Bright Eyes
by Mistress Fang
Summary: This mysterious teenager walks into their midst carrying rather startling evidence and sarcasm.
1. Enter Daryls Daughter

**Title:** Bright Eyes

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except Sonora, so backup

**Summary:** This mysterious teenager walks into their midst carrying rather startling evidence and sarcasm.

….. - …...

Sonora moved slowly through the underbrush, eyes shifting rapidly around, trying to see in every possible direction. She knew she was near a settlement of some sort, hell she could smell the smoke from a fire since she'd woken up that morning!

She wet a finger and then stuck it up in the air, feeling a slight breeze blowing against it. She smirked and lowered her hand grabbing her butterfly trench knives from a pouch at her waist. She unfolded them with a well practiced snap of her wrists and then held her hands at her sides.

The titanium fit well with her nails, she'd painted them different colors the last week when she'd been in a shop full of cosmetics. Sonora chuckled darkly as she walked, her long strides eating the ground rapidly, soon enough she could see that the trees were beginning to lessen, a sure sign she was either coming across a clearing or the settlement.

Sonora grinned, pausing a quick second to take a deep sniff of the air, and to listen carefully for screams or gunshots.

When neither entered her nostrils or ears she kept the grin on her face, teeth glimmering in what little sunlight could get through the leaves from the trees above. She stepped forward, gripping the knives in her hands so tightly her knuckles went white and the second knuckle from her thumb on each hand touched the knuckle guard on each knife. Sonora ignored the slight twinge from her right hand and kept walking, finally stepping out into the field, sunlight blinding her for a mere second before she blinked away the pain and looked around.

Two barns stood beside a large white house, a little further away sat a collection of vehicles and tents. Sonora could see people moving about; another person was on top of the RV, no doubt keeping a look-out for the people on the ground.

Sonora felt the pain in her lips and cheeks as her smile widened further, she kept walking towards the motley collection of survivors. She knew she looked half-dead, what with her shirt torn all to hell and her pants nearly there, both articles of clothing were dirty beyond anything she'd ever seen before. Her boots were in good shape at least, the fine leather keeping up as they were supposed to, which was considerable considering she'd jacked them from some out of place store a couple of months ago.

Sonora quit her inward examination of herself when she heard someone yell, she lifted her gaze and saw the person on top of the RV waving and pointing at her. The others stopped whatever they were doing; Sonora kept walking, bringing her knives up a little though. Soon though she saw a small group dispatch from the main mob and come running towards her, weapons up.

She knew why, the walker that was trying desperately to catch her was almost at her back. Sonora suddenly whirled around in a fast moving blur of porcelain and black, her trench knives digging furrows into the walker's body. She saw her right knife track its way across the belly, spilling horrible smelling guts, the left was buried to the hilt inside the head before she wrenched it, making it nearly scalp the now really dead walker. She sneered in disgust, finally dropping her manic grin for something a little more familiar.

Then she was surrounded, the people from camp had reached her and had created a circle around her, weapons pointed at her head. Sonora ducked, bringing her knives up and whirling around, facing each member of the circle in turn. She wouldn't speak, pretty much figuring her voice would be useless after not using it for months.

Then she faced a man holding a crossbow and froze, eyes widening in surprise. She knew this man, how could she not when her mother had practically shoved his photo in her face for the last nineteen years of her life.

Sonora straightened, watching as all of the members of the group put their weapons down. She returned to looking at the man with the crossbow, not surprised when he didn't even seem to recognize her.

She grinned again, crossing her arms carefully, and cocking her head to the right. She was a few inches shorter than him but that mattered little to her. Sonora saw him put his weapon down uncertainly. "Who are ya?" he asked, his eyes flickering over her form.

Grin widening Sonora threw her head back and _laughed_ like she had never laughed before. It came out a bit hoarse, but she was certain that her voice box hadn't suffered from the months of self-induced silence.

She returned to looking at him, gaze smug, eyes dark. "Hello, father." She stated roughly, laughing again, this time hysterically louder and more in a manic way.


	2. Cleaning Weapons and Laughing

Sonora glanced up and saw that Daryl was staring at her again, his eyebrows pulled together and his face screwed up in concentration. She cracked a grin, meeting his eyes for a brief minute before letting her own fall to the paper in his hands and then back to her trench knives, swiping at them with a wet rag. She knew he was trying to find the resemblance, to tell if she was making this up or not.

Unfortunately for him she wasn't making anything up, and she knew that she had his strong jaw, and his eyes. Sonora suddenly started to giggle at nothing, dropping her knife and the rag before keeling over sideways laughing her fool head off. It made everyone nervous as hell, hell it made her feel a tad bit of fear, but she knew it was because of her sense of humor.

Other people's displeasure made her laugh, a lot. Which would make them look at her like she was the scum under their boots, and that made her laugh harder. She knew she was a bit of a sadist, it came from her mother, apparently her laughing fits made her newly found 'daddy' nervous.

Who'd have figured.

Sonora finally stopped laughing and picked herself up from the ground, sweeping her gaze around and seeing the brown haired woman pull the young boy closer, as if Sonora's eyes would somehow disease him. Sonora snorted, trying to control her urge to start laughing again; she needed to finish cleaning her knives sometime today.

"What did you say your name was?" she looked up to find that sheriff dude looking down at her from where he stood. Sonora lifted one fine black eyebrow before once again trying to stop herself from laughing.

Once the fit was over she smiled, less like the madwoman grin she'd used before, more like the semi amused woman. "Sonora, no last name." she answered, looking back down at her knife and seeing that it was clean. She nodded to herself and then flipped it closed, shoving it into the pouch at her waist. She then opened the duffel bag and took out a large rolled up black strip of fabric.

"How old are ya?" Sonora paused in unrolling the fabric, her fingers still on the Velcro she'd torn off of it. Her father was standing in front of her, wearing a scowl and holding the paper she'd given him earlier in his left hand. The sheriff guy was standing next to him, eyes on the black fabric in her hands.

"I'm nineteen." Sonora looked back down at her roll of fabric and then back up at the two men in front of her. She stood, keeping the fabric in her right hand, and saw that the sheriff was still staring at the black fabric. "It's just a roll-up with my weapons in it Sheriff." She stated, her left hand curling into a fist. If the older man was going to try and take her weapons then he had another thing coming, Sonora would make sure of that.

The sheriff looked up at her. "Any guns?" he asked, his hand falling onto his own weapon on his right hip, reminded Sonora of a cowboy.

She shook her head. "Those sumbitches are too loud; I like a quick, silent kill. Can't say much about it being clean though, at least with my trench knives I can't." she told the man, eyes flickering between him and the man who was supposed to be her father.

The two men were silent for a few minutes; Sonora let her eyes wander over the rest of the camp. She saw the older guy who had alerted them to her presence in the first place, a young blonde was with him on top of the RV, and both were staring at her. Once they saw her looking back though they averted their eyes to something else. Sonora slipped her gaze to another part of camp, where two darker guys were looking over a map and a young Asian dude standing behind them who was looking towards one of the barns.

She followed his line of sight and found the barn, but saw nothing interesting about it. She snorted, turning her eyes back to the men in front of her.

"Anything else?" she asked, preparing to sit back down and open the roll of fabric so she could clean her assortment of weapons.

"We'll need to see your weapons, if you don't mind." The sheriff told her, gesturing to himself and her supposed dad.

"I'll let you see, if you tell me your name." she told the older man, looking at her father. She knew his name, had looked at the certificate in his left hand often enough to have it memorized; she just didn't know what to call him… yet.

The sheriff blinked, feeling a little embarrassed about not having given out his name earlier. "Rick Grimes." He stated, holding out a hand.

Sonora rolled her eyes down at the proffered limb. "No thanks." She said, turning and walking to a car, at once the sound of two sets of feet sounded in her ears and she stopped in front of the hood of the car. Sonora put the black fabric on the hood and looked to her left and right, seeing Rick the sheriff and Daryl her dad on each side.

"Here we go." She stated, unrolling the fabric with a dramatic flourish, letting it unroll and then dropping each edge on each end of the hood. When she had done that she leaned back slightly, keeping her eyes on the hands that reached forward to touch her gleaming weapons. "Some of the finest metals on this world have come together in harmony of these weapons. Only I can use them as it was I who had bought them and trained with them for years before this Apocalypse." She told the two, eyes sharpening as Daryl picked up a throwing star.

"You bought these?" he asked gruffly, dropping the black metal star with jagged edges back into its place.

"Yes, and if you need to know, it wasn't such a waste to invest in the buying and training for each weapon." Sonora scowled as she fixed the star and then flinched slightly as Rick reached forward to pick up a silver kunai knife.

"What are you supposed to do with these?" Rick asked, lifting it by the handle and bringing it closer to his face.

"Throw them and hit the walking idiot in the head. Not that hard to do actually…" Sonora removed the kunai from Rick's grasp and placed it back with the others of its kind.

"Not that hard…" Rick stared at her. "It's hard enough to hit them in the head with a bullet, and you and throw this and take them out?" he asked.

Sonora nodded, taking a small whet stone out of its pouch and then taking one of the black kunai from its fellows. "Like I told him," here she jerked her head in Daryl's direction. "I have trained for years with these weapons, and not just alone. I had a teacher help me out with learning how to use, clean, and respect the weapons I have." She stated, running the kunai across the whet stone.

Rick stared at her, probably wondering why she wasn't dead yet.

"You said your mom was Sally Young?" Daryl's voice cut through Sonora's inner thoughts, though she didn't stop in the sharpening of the throwing knife.

"Yes, after you had left and she had discovered that she was pregnant she tried to find you. However she had no luck and when she had me she flipped a picture of you out nearly every day for the next nineteen years so that should I ever come across you in public then I would recognize you. Should that have happened I probably would have run up to you screaming 'daddy' and might have given you a heart attack." Sonora started chuckling at the thought. Soon the chuckles were turned into full blown laughter; Sonora had to drop both the kunai and the whet stone as she gripped the hood of the car.

She nearly fell again, but soon she was able to control her laughing fit, when she was done both of the men were staring at her in concern.

"Are you okay?" Rick asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, Sonora glanced over at him, hands moving automatically to brush his off and then pick her stone and knife back up.

"Yes, I got my crazy from mom, bless her." She smirked darkly, running the kunai down the stone yet again.

"Wait… Crazy…" Daryl's voice cut through Rick's mutterings. "Black hair with a tint of blue and eyes to match?" he asked, turning and looking at Sonora intently, eyes scrutinizing her features.

Sonora smirked. "Yea, that would describe mom's hair and eyes." She told him.

"It still concerns me that you laugh like that without warning… and that you seem to collapse from it almost every time." Rick told her.

Sonora shrugged. "I've been doing it all my life, usually whenever someone seems to have bad luck or when something amuses me." She stated.

Rick stared at her, his eyes wide, Daryl seemed to find what he was looking for and stomped off, and looking none too pleased at his findings. Sonora grinned, mouth stretching tightly, and painfully, at his retreating back, laughter already bubbling up and escaping her mouth.


	3. Talking

Sonora sat against a tree and looked out over her surroundings, eyes shielded by the hat she was wearing. Once her newness had worn off everyone had started ignoring her, well nearly everyone, she caught Daryl staring at her sometimes, mouth fixed into a tight line. She knew he was trying to figure out if he could disclaim her somehow, and she didn't mind. She wouldn't like some kid coming up to her in the middle of an apocalypse and claim that she was its mother.

She sighed, looking down at her lap and then grabbing a handful of grass to throw into the air. Watching them fall down she looked up again to see that kid walking up to her, she glanced around and noticed that his mother was watching them intently.

Sonora looked at the boy as he came to a stop and squatted on the ground in front of her. "I'm Carl." He said, offering her his hand.

Sonora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Sonora." She looked down at his hand. "I don't shake hands." She told him.

Carl put his hand down. "Oh…" he looked around for a moment and then sat down fully, crossing his legs in front of him and then staring openly at her. "You're Daryl's daughter?"

"Yes… or at least, that's what my mom and the birth certificate says. Can't really ask for a DNA test nowadays." Sonora cracked a grin. Carl smiled also, wanting to find out more about this strange girl who claimed Daryl as a dad.

"So… I heard dad talking to Shane about your weapons… why do you have them instead of a gun?" he asked shyly, hoping Sonora would answer. "Did you expect walkers to take over or something?"

Sonora shook her head, feeling suddenly embarrassed. "Actually… I used to watch this show called 'Naruto' and got really into it." She grinned at the memory. "I liked the weapons and the show so much I got an assortment of the things they used."

"I've seen that show! Mom wouldn't let me watch it too much though, she said there was too much violence in it." He frowned.

Sonora shrugged. "Mom's know best I guess." She stated, looking back at the brown haired woman. "But anyway, I got the weapons and a teacher to show me how to use them; it took me at least three years to finally get the general stuff down pat. I would train with them and clean them, sharpen them, nearly every day." She explained.

"Could you show me?" Carl looked hopeful, Sonora sighed, shaking her head.

"No, I don't want you to get hurt. Besides, you shouldn't want to learn how to use them. The weapons call for close combat, something I'm sure you wouldn't want as the walkers could grab you and bite you. Your mom would blame me and I'm not sure I want that." She told him.

Carl looked crestfallen; Sonora had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing. She inwardly growled at herself, she hated laughing like a maniac every time someone showed displeasure at something.

While Sonora was trying to control herself Carl was looking at the trench knife lying on the ground in front of her legs. He looked up at her and then back down at the knife, reaching out slowly to pick it up and look at it a little more closely. Sonora opened her eyes in time to see Carl picking up the knife, she frowned and reached out, plucking it from his fingertips, wondering why he was picking it up when she had told him he couldn't touch her things.

"No touchy." She said, putting the knife into the pouch at her waist.

Carl sighed, getting up and brushing his pants off. "I hope you can fit in here Sonora." He said, waving as he walked off.

Sonora nodded to him and then leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes as she listened to the retreating footsteps. The kid was alright, he talked a lot, but that's what kids do. She sighed and stood, opening her eyes as she started walking across the campsite to the RV.

If she was going to fit in, she had to at least try and help out, or so she figured. Once she was at the RV she started climbing up, reaching the roof in a matter of moments, the old man at the top looked at her and smiled. "Hello there." He said, reaching out a hand to help her up.

Sonora ignored his hand, sitting on the roof when she'd hoisted herself over the edge. "I don't touch." She said, blinking up at him. "But hello, my name is Sonora."

"I'm Dale." The old man said, retreating to his chair and sitting down on it. "I hope you're doing well in our humble abode."

"As well as I could do I'm sure." Sonora lifted one shoulder and then let it drop. "I just wanted to know if you needed help keeping an eye out for any walkers."

"Sure, I could use an extra pair of eyes, thank you." He turned his gaze out to the large fields. "It gets lonely up here sometimes, so I hope you don't mind talking." He stated after switching his sight back to her.

Sonora shook her head. "Not at all." She looked out at the rolling landscape and sighed slightly, noticing that she did that a lot lately. Must be because she was slightly bored, life on the run had its risks, sure, but at least she saw action most days.

"So they're saying that you're Daryl's daughter, is it true?" Dale's voice cut through Sonora's thoughts, she turned to him and nodded, wondering why they were all talking about that, wasn't it old news?

"It's come as a shock; we never knew he had had a wife." Dale chuckled.

Sonora shrugged. "Mom wasn't his wife, nor was she his girlfriend, she was an old friend, or so that was what she had told me." She stated, looking up at the sky.

"Really?" he asked, gazing at her in shock.

"Yea, apparently she wanted to be something more but when they did the nasty he'd moved the next day… or something like that, she didn't really go into specifics." Sonora took her knife out and started playing with it.

"So you just happened to come by here, not intentionally looking for him at all, and yet found him?" Dale looked a little disbelieving.

"Strange isn't it? But really I was just heading further south, I was trying to get to Florida. If I had gotten there I could have jacked a boat or something and then made my way to some island. I know there's a few of them around the Gulf of Mexico. One of them was called Shell Island, it's incredibly small but it's sure to have its uses." Sonora moved her hands as she talked, giving a general picture of where she wanted to go.

Dale nodded. "That does sound like a good idea, but for that you would have to know how to fish, and you'd probably need to build a shelter, can you do those things?" he asked.

Sonora made an 'ehh' noise. "I know how to fish, but the shelter thing I don't. I figure I could just learn by trial and error. It can't be too hard, after all they do it in movies." She stated.

Dale smiled slightly at her naiveté. "It could be harder than you think it is." He told her, looking down at the knife she was playing with.

"But isn't that the point? I mean I don't know how to do a lot of things, but I'm sure I could learn." Sonora put her knife away and looked back out at the pastures.

Dale stayed silent, both of them looking out for any sort of danger to the camp.

"Hey old man! Where's that girl at?" Daryl's voice cut through the silence, both Dale and Sonora stood and looked down at him.

"I'm here!" Sonora stated, lifting an eyebrow.

Daryl huffed and looked displeased, obviously trying to look unconcerned. Sonora's eyes widened as she started to laugh at him, her hands cupped her mouth, but it was no use. She wobbled once, and then tripped as she tried to reel back away from the edge.

She laughed as she went over the edge of the RV, plummeting to the ground.

Before she could reach it though she was abruptly stopped, arms encasing her body. Sonora tried to stop laughing but apparently the thought of her own demise had her arching in fits.

A rumble came from Daryl; it seemed as if he was getting angry. "I should have let you hit the ground, maybe then you would stop laughing." He barked, dropping her and watching her hit the ground on her butt.

Sonora appreciated the shock it brought; she stopped laughing and then started rubbing her bruised bum. When she stood she looked at her 'father' and then nodded before walking away, completely ignoring the fact that he must have wanted to talk to her since he had come to find her.

Before she could walk to far though he stopped her. "How did she die?"

Sonora froze; her back straightening and her hands curling into fists. She turned to look at him and then sighed, her head dropping so that her chin touched her collarbone. "I stabbed her in the head, she'd been bitten by one of the freaks when they first came out." Tears formed in her eyes and she turned back around, walking away until she came to a tree with low slung branches.

She climbed up into it and sat down, burying her face in her hands.


	4. Taking Care of Business

Sonora stared at the horse in front of her, her face was an emotionless mask and her right eyebrow had ticked up. The horse stared back at her, jaws grinding the straw between its teeth in an almost lazy fashion while its tail flicked around its withers. She blinked before turning to Daryl. "I have to ride this thing… because?" she asked, pointing over her shoulder at the brown animal in question.

Daryl stared at her, not really used to people asking him things that the answer to was obvious. "We're searchin' for Sophia… You're goin' with me so that if one of us gets hurt then the other can either cart the body back here or dispatch it if it's a walker bite. Ya got me?" he stated more than asked, turning back to his own horse and fixing the saddle on it.

Sonora turned back to the horse, the saddle and bridle had already been placed on it courtesy of her… dad… and now all she had to do was mount up and ride.

Easier said than done.

The last time she'd been on a horses back was at her seventh birthday party when her mom had taken her to a fair and she'd ridden in a circle on one while a tall man led them.

Sonora heard leather creak and glanced over at Daryl, noticing that he was already mounted and was waiting, impatiently, for her to do the same. She sighed and walked to the left side of the animal, threw her foot into the stirrup, and then climbed on. Daryl clicked his tongue as she sat down and both horses started moving forward. Sonora was nearly unseated; she glared at his back while giggles escaped her mouth.

She hated her insane-ness, she could be completely pissed off and still have room to laugh like a hyena. Daryl glanced back at her. "You'll want to pick your reigns up." He drawled lazily. "Also, hold on with your knees, it'll give you a better grip and you might not fall off."

Sonora made a face at him, one hand holding her reigns and the pommel of the saddle while the other was trying to hold the stirrup on her right still. She'd not gotten her foot in when the blasted horse started moving so she was trying to do so now while also trying to hold her balance.

It was going to be a long ride she figured, flipping Daryl's back a bird as she finally got her foot in the stirrup and straightened up.

…

When they got to a thick patch of woods Daryl stopped his horse, Sonora's thankfully stopping as well behind the other. Her father looked around, drawing his crossbow around and taking the strap off his shoulder. Sonora closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the woods a little more intently than she had been doing, one hand going over her shoulder to the katana strapped there. She drew it and held it by her side, twisting her head so she could get a better read on the noises around her.

Nothing seemed out of place, Sonora opened her eyes and glanced around, not finding anything noteworthy. Daryl nodded to himself and then clucked to the horse he was on, putting his crossbow back on his shoulders; Sonora kicked her horse slightly, keeping her sword in her hand.

Both animals moved along, their hoof beats padding a rhythm on the forest floor. Sonora cocked her head to listen, liking the way it sounded.

"What kind of blade is that?" Daryl's voice cut through her thoughts and she snapped her head up, eyes blinking at him for a second.

"It's a double edge katana, not as long as a regular sword, not as heavy, but just as strong." She stated, rolling her eyes over to the black blade in her right hand, twisting her wrist so it moved and she could look at one edge now.

"Humph." Daryl scoffed, turning his head back around and looking around a little more. Sonora stuck her tongue out at him, giggles rising once more. Daryl noticed. "If you get to laughin' and fall offa your horse don't expect me to pick you up." He told her.

Sonora clenched her teeth, keeping her laughing muffled.

A crash to their immediate left had both the horses skittering to the right, Sonora almost falling from her saddle, and Daryl swinging his crossbow up and around at the noise.

Sonora regained her seat amid more giggles, damning them in her mind, and then swung her head around to see three walkers coming out of the bushes. Daryl cussed and fired his crossbow, an arrow hitting one between the eyes; he muttered more curses as he reloaded the weaponry as the first walker fell.

Sonora sighed and turned the horse, clicking her tongue so it could move into a trot and bringing her katana up. She didn't feel steady on the back of this animal, but her aim was true, her blade hit first one, then the other, walker. The bodies fell back against the weight even as Sonora's upper torso twisted from the impact. But both heads had been chopped in half, the top sliding off of the bottom.

She slowed the horse, turning it and moving back to her dad. "Nice shot." She murmured, stopping the big brown animal and looking at the two downed walkers. She would have to clean her sword before she put it back in the casing, but at least she wasn't walker food.

Daryl stared at her for a moment before glancing up at the sky. "Come on, it's gettin' dark, we need to head back to camp." He stated, turning his horse around and then making it canter off.

Sonora's animal followed, nearly unseating her once more, she glared at Daryl again as she laughed her heart out.

…

"So what all did you do before the walkers came around?" the question was asked by the dark skinned cop, Sonora looked up from her squirrel and chewed for a moment, thinking over her answer.

Her left hand, which had been holding the plate filled with squirrel stew, lowered a little. Her eyes got a little squinty as she scrutinized the man on the other side of the fire pit. "I worked." She answered vaguely.

The man rolled his eyes, scoffing slightly. "Well I would have guessed that. But where did you work, how in the ever living hell did you come across us?" he elaborated.

Sonora put her spoon in the bowl, watching the liquid seep over the sides and pull it under. "I was… a whore." She tilted her head to the side a bit and smiled a very fake smile, eyes crinkling until they were nearly closed.

Their reactions were very amusing; the brown haired woman clapped her hands over Carl's ears. Her husband turned a very bright red as did a few of the other surrounding males, her father and the other cop included. Dale was looking at her in shock and the other two females looked ready to burst.

Then Sonora keeled over laughing, hand circling her stomach as her bowl of soup fell to the ground and splattered, some of it getting on her boots. The surrounding people blinked at her and then realized that she had been pulling their tails and started glaring, the woman holding her hands over Carl's ears looked ready to start yelling at her.

When Sonora was done laughing she straightened up and glanced down at her bowl, realizing that she would need more food. She looked back up at the gathering, still with her jaw cracking grin on. "I actually worked with a few people doing odds and ends kind of stuff. Good money too, if it was the right job." She stated.

The people surrounding her glared at her, making her chuckle before picking her bowl up and then depositing it on the stump next to her. She then stood and brushed her cargo pants off and then proceeded to the tent that had been designated as hers. She still had to clean her katana before the night was over; she still hadn't put it back in its scabbard.

The sound of footsteps followed hers and she glanced over her shoulder, finding that Daryl was following her, looking quite angry as well. She sighed as the giggles started coming up her throat, but kept on towards her tent. If he wanted to speak with her then it could be while she cleaned her weapon.

When they reached her tent she unzipped it and stepped inside, lighting the gas lamp hanging from a hook before grabbing her sword and a cleaning rag before sitting down. Daryl zipped the tent door closed and pulled a milk crate out from one of the walls, sitting on it when it was in the middle of the temporary home.

"What can I help you with?" Sonora asked, taking a canteen of water out from under her bed and pouring a little on her rag. She would have to make sure the blade was completely dry before she put it back in the scabbard, she didn't want it to rust.

"Don't make jokes like that." Daryl said, watching her hands work over the blade of the sword, swiping the rag so the dried walker blood would come off. "Also, you'll be coming with me again tomorrow when we go out to search for Sophia, out of all the idiots here only you don't use a gun, and I like to be silent so the walkers don't crowd us." He told her.

Sonora shrugged, barely glancing up from her ministrations to her sword. "Is that all?" she asked, flipping the katana over so she could start on the other side.

"Don't get eaten." Was all he said before he stood, unzipped the tent, stepped out, rezipped it, and then left.

Sonora rolled her eyes. "Getting eaten would defeat the whole point of survival." She muttered, putting the water away and switching rags, moving a dry one over the surface of the fire tempered sword to get the moisture off of it.


	5. Hell on Wheels

Sonora was beyond pissed, it had been a few weeks since she'd joined the little ragtag group and now she was wondering if she had made the right decision. They had found the little girl in the barn full of walkers; Sonora had stood to the side as the firing squad let loose their shots.

Now they had grabbed a boy who had been part of a group who had attacked the sheriff, the Korean boy, and the man who owned the farm where everyone was staying. The two cops had tried to take him off and leave him somewhere but they'd come back after being attacked by walkers.

Sonora could see the tension rolling off the two cops in waves; she knew something more had gone down. But it wasn't her place to question.

Well, it wasn't until now.

"Ya'll are just a fuckin' bunch of douchebags with a bunch of power problems!" she yelled, glaring at the group that had gathered in the room in the farmhouse.

The cop without hair glared at her. "Now you don't have any right in this, you just shut up and sit down." He told her, lifting an arm and pointing a finger at her.

Sonora lifted her upper lip in a sneer, her eyes flashing, she looked set to kill. "You need to learn that life is a fuckin' precious thing, not something that you can destroy at your pleasure." She said hotly, noting distractedly that the old man, Dale, was looking at her in relief.

Rick looked between Sonora and Shane, his lips pulling down as he noticed that the two looked ready to trade blows.

Sonora clenched her fists, understanding that she was outnumbered in the decision of the boy's life. She looked back at Shane, glaring daggers at him before drawing up and spitting in his face. She threw him a bird at the same time and then whirled, stalking off to go cool down.

"All'a ya'll need to grow up and learn that you're not muthafuckin' God!" she yelled at them before slamming the screen door open and taking the steps in one go and then running off, stretching her legs to the fullest to try and distance herself from the idiots in the house.

She hated when she got mad, her country slang which she usually could keep out of her talking came out.

She started slowing down, taking in gulps of air as she looked around at her surroundings. She noticed that she was close to the horse barn; she quickly strode over to it and went in. She didn't particularly like the animals but whenever Daryl had gone out to search for the now dead Sophia he had taken her.

She liked to think that she had learned quite a few things about them with her father as a teacher.

When Sonora was inside the barn she stopped at the first stall, eyeing a big black horse who was looking at her over its stall door. They stared at each other for a few seconds more before Sonora whirled around and ran to get its tack. She returned and took the horse from the stall, putting its equipment on it before lifting herself up and onto its back.

Then she kicked its sides, letting out a yell to get it going, her anger mounting when she saw the very people she was mad at in her way. Sonora urged the horse onward, kicking it to make it go faster and heading in the direction of the campmates she didn't really like. They scattered, the brown haired woman, Lori, diving out of the way to avoid being trampled. Then she heard the angry yells, and the curses being voiced at her and in her general direction.

Sonora ignored them all, kicking the black horse again and racing down the driveway. Her katana bounced against her back as she rode, turning the horse with the road. She didn't really know where she was going right then; she just knew that she had to go somewhere before she chopped everyone's heads off.

She hated that she was still ruled by her emotions like that, blowing up in everyone's faces wasn't her thing… maybe it was something she picked up from her dear old dad.

The horse suddenly swerved, almost knocking Sonora from her seat on its back. She frowned and righted herself, telling herself to keep her mind on now and focus on the then when she wasn't riding like a madwoman down a road.

Sonora leaned up, pulling on the reigns to get the horse to slow down, which it did quickly. The animal was breathing as if it had run ten miles nonstop. Sonora looked around as the horse walked on, keeping a straight line on the road to wherever they were headed.

It was at that moment that Sonora knew she was in some deep shit when she got back. Not only from Daryl, but from everyone she had almost run over. She blinked as she realized that Rick would probably expect her to apologize to his wife. Well that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, the woman had been pissing her off for a while now. Giving her the stank eye while Sonora was talking to Carl, trying to boss her around like she was Sonora's superior.

Sonora sighed, slumping a little bit as she kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. She saw a turn coming up and moved the horse in that direction, figuring she could run around town a little to stock up on whatever she needed. Shopping might help her blow off a little steam, and knowing that she wouldn't have to pay for anything made her smile just a little bit.

They reached the town in short order and Sonora rode the horse straight into the Wal Mart to look for items she would like. The sound of the hooves clopping on tile echoed, and Sonora took her katana from its sheath before she turned the animal down an aisle. It was then that she realized that she would need a big bag and she turned the horse back around and started looking for camping supplies.

There was bound to be a bag there.

After collecting a big green bag that looked like an army duffel she turned the horse again and nabbed another one before letting her hands grab stuff that interested her. Razors, shampoo, conditioner, books, toilette paper, towels, clothes. That was just a base layer.

She dispatched at least three walkers while she was in the store, their bodies lay in the isles she'd killed them in. She wasn't really concerned about anything, just grabbing stuff and placing it in the two bags she had over the horn of the saddle.

When the bags were full she made one more trip around the store and grabbed three heavy duty locks. She tore the cases off of them and then placed the third one in one of her bags while locking the other two on the bags she had on the saddle. She didn't want anything falling off while she rode back to the farm.

Before she knew it she was just about halfway there, and then the sound of another horse filled her ears and the animal she was on neighed. Sonora sighed, looking up and seeing that they had sent Daryl after her… three hours after she'd left.

She stopped the horse and adjusted her katana, waiting for her father to get closer to her. When their horses were abreast of each other he stopped his and then sat there for a moment, staring at her. Sonora felt a sudden longing fill her heart, she wished she'd known this man before shit started happening.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, looking down and eyeing her bags.

"I got mad, I wasn't thinking…" she answered, sighing in longing, imagining what her life would have been like before.

"Obviously. You're in deep shit, Lori's pissed and so is just about half of the camp." He turned his horse around, making it walk.

Sonora clucked to hers, making it move forward until it was alongside his. "I don't give a shit; they ain't my family nor are they my fucking bosses. I could very well leave if I had half a mind to." She rolled her eyes, looking sideways at him, her lips turning down a little.

"Well then why don't you?" Daryl looked around for any walkers, he found none.

"I don't know." Sonora shrugged, sheathing her sword, she'd have to wipe it down again later, she'd done it earlier but that was just to get it so it wouldn't stick.

"Why'd you leave?"

Daryl looked kind of startled at the question from nowhere. He looked over at Sonora and stared at her for a few minutes.

"What ya mean?" he asked, brows drawing together.

"Mom, why'd you leave after what happened?" she stated more than asked.

Daryl looked down, fiddling with the mane on his horse. "I moved, Merle had a new job and he wanted me to come along so I could make some money too." He finally answered.

"After that, why didn't you come back? You had nineteen years to go back, and you didn't… why not?" Sonora had wanted to ask these questions days ago but had never had the chance.

"I just didn't want to, I figured I had fucked up her life, if I had known she was pregnant with you then I might have gone back." Daryl shrugged; they both turned the horses to the road that would lead them to the farm.

Sonora just looked down; she couldn't really blame him for leaving her mother. He'd had stuff to do and he didn't know she'd gotten pregnant. Sonora figured that was the way life was, throwing hard balls in everyone's direction and having them scramble to pick them all up…

They rode in silence the rest of the way back to the farm, when they got there Sonora noted the ugly looks and ignored them easily. She and Daryl un-tacked the horses, rubbed them down, and then put them in their stalls. When that was done Sonora picked her bags up and left the barn, heading for her tent, it was getting dark and she wanted to put the stuff in a corner and hide it before she lost her natural light.

While she was walking towards her humble abode she was waylaid by the previously mentioned Rick. He didn't look too happy with her, and she could understand the feeling, she wasn't too happy with him either.

"What was that stunt you pulled earlier?" he asked, leaning in and getting too close for her comfort.

Sonora dropped her bags, narrowing her eyes. "First of all, get the fuck out of my face. I have this thing called a personal bubble and you're close to stepping into it." She told him, clenching her fists.

Rick blinked at her but stepped back a little. Sonora kept her hands on her bags, fighting the urge to cross them.

"Second, if you guys hadn't of acted like you were all chosen by Jesus to be executioners then I wouldn't have blown up at you and then almost run you over with the horse. That's your fault, not mine. Lastly…" here she released her bag and pointed to the right where one could see Lori trying, and failing, to eavesdrop unnoticed. "Deal with that woman, she has a God complex. She has been pissing me off to the point of where I will slap her nosy fucking face off if she tries to rule me." Sonora was full out glaring, sneer etched into her face. "Now I suggest you back off and let me go to my tent before I get angry."

Rick looked startled, Sonora took the opportunity and picked her bags back up and stalked off to her tent. As she passed by Lori she glared at her as well, her upper lip so far into the sneer that it was twitching. "You keep the fuck away from me, I don't like you." She said in passing.

Then she made it to her tent and walked into it, zipping it shut behind her.

One could hear the almost silent chuckles that were coming from Daryl, who had watched the whole thing.

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	6. Taking Off

Sonora stretched and picked up the bridle from the hook on the wall of the barn. The boy that had caused all sort of hell for the camp had gotten loose and had attacked Shane, which she thought was a load of bullshit but the boy was still gone. Daryl, Glenn, Rick, and Shane had all gone out looking for him. Sonora decided that she would leave instead of setting up house with the rest of the people. She liked knowing her dad, but the group was too much. She would head west; find something out there that could sustain her until this plague of zombies was over with.

She had finished with tacking the horse up and was now putting its bridle on so she could mount up and ride out. She had her katana strapped to her back, her weapons roll in a saddlebag, and her shoes tightly laced. When she was finished she lifted the green duffel bag across the back of the saddle. She had gotten rid of a lot of things, the shampoo and conditioner, and the deodorant, would stay. She felt that she didn't need too much though, one towel, the toiletries, two changes of clothes, socks, a hairbrush, and lots of dried meat.

She had more than that sure, but she was too busy trying to get the hell out of Dodge to think about it. Maybe later.

The sun was all the way behind the trees when she mounted up and walked the horse out of the barn. She could see the women and the two males walking around the house, trying to get everything in, as she headed for the dirt road. Sonora figured she would use the interstate to travel, it being a mite more dangerous, but still efficient.

A shout behind her made her stop the horse; she turned her head to see Carl running towards her. When he made it to where she was waiting he stopped, panting and looking a little red in the face. "Something you want kid?" she asked, glancing behind her to the bitch Lori who was standing on the porch and seemed to be glaring in their direction.

She rolled her eyes and looked back down at Carl; kid was finally catching his breath. "Where are you going?" he panted, looking up at her through narrowed eyes. Obviously the big green bag on the back of the saddle was a tell tale sign of someone fixing to leave.

"West, do me a favor and tell the old man I'm sorry about stealing the horse, but I don't think I could make it far on foot with my shit all on my back." Sonora shrugged, keeping an emotionless expression on her face, she was upset about leaving Carl with his bitch mother, but she felt that she had to go. So she would go.

Carl pouted. "You're not staying; I thought you liked it here."

Sonora almost laughed, the friction between her and the rest of the camp had been thick enough to cut with a rusty butter knife. Yet somehow this kid missed it entirely. "Carl, I'll tell you something about myself. I'm not a people person. Sure I can hang around with a big group for a month or so, but people tend to bug me." She stated, looking around and seeing no one coming towards them.

Carl sighed, looking down and scuffing the ground with his foot. "Fine, I hope I see you again though." He muttered, lifting the brim of the hat his father had given to him.

Sonora shrugged. "Whichever way fate throws us." She said, clicking to the horse and heading out. Carl watched her go, the darkness making her and the horse fade away quickly.

He frowned and turned towards the house; his mom had disappeared off the porch, and then looked towards the woods where his dad and Shane were. He ran off that way.

…

Sonora kept the horse walking away from the farm, keeping her eyes peeled for any walkers that might make their presence known. She noticed more than a fare few in the fields, but thought nothing of it, she kept heading to the interstate. The map in her right hand fluttering with the slight wind that had kicked up, but otherwise still in her grasp.

It was after a few hours of riding that she reached the turn where, if she turned right, she would go into town. She stayed straight and sighed as the horse kept ambling along. There were little to none in the walker category. What few she saw had been coming her way; she'd dispatched them readily enough. But that was it. There weren't any walkers around, she found that very very odd.

Sonora sighed and scratched the horse under its mane, thankful for the company this time. She looked around again and then glanced down at her wrist; it was nearing three in the morning. She glanced up and over her shoulder in the direction of the farm briefly before turning to look back to the front. Then she snapped her head back around and stared, wide eyed, at the orange glow.

She had not been expecting that, at all. The glow signaled a large fire, she somehow knew, in the pit of her stomach, that something had happened to the farm. She frowned and wondered what she should do, should she turn around? No, if there was a fire that big then most likely the others were gone. Either dead or having had abandoned the place.

Sonora hoped Daryl was okay, then she shook her head, of course he was okay.

She sighed and then lowered her head, not one for praying but sending up a small one for whoever was listening. She hoped everyone was safe.

The horse snorted and Sonora snatched her head up, eyes flicking around. She had to keep her mind on now, and keep heading towards the interstate. She clucked to the horse and it moved into a rolling trot. Annaed bounced around a little but tightened her thighs and knees and leaning back in the saddle a little to keep her butt in the seat.

She still bounced though.

When the sky began to lighten and the horse had slowed to a walk Sonora took a moment to look at her surroundings. She was close to the interstate, that much she could see, and she now had the dilemma of choosing which way to go. Right or left, north or south… Well, she could go farther south, finish up on that thought of living on an island. She growled to herself, closing her eyes tightly and then opening them. She turned left; south she would go, until she could get to a good place to go west.

She wondered it Mexico was as bad as the US.

Once she was on the interstate she noticed that there were more walkers here. She sighed and took her katana from the sheathe. She rode forward and began to swing, taking out the walkers close to her, the horse skittered from side to side but she kept it up until there weren't any walkers near her.

Sonora stopped then and took a rag from the bag on the front of the saddle. She wiped her blade down and put it back in the casing. A moment later she stopped the horse in front of a car and looked at it. She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about her options. She knew the cars around her held a lot of valuable items that could keep her alive, but she didn't know if the occupants of some of the cars were zombies or not.

She sighed and dismounted, leaving the reins on the horn of the saddle in case she needed a fast getaway and didn't have time to gather the reins and flick them over the horses head and then climb on the saddle. It would save precious minutes she could use to get away.

Sonora then set out looking for anything she could use, just going through the cars nearest her. She didn't find much, a jacket, more like a trench coat; she could use in case of rain, black gloves that looked waterproof, and some socks in an unopened bag. She felt a smile edge onto her features at her luck and then she placed the gloves inside the pocket of the coat and the socks in the bag on the horn of the saddle. The coat she placed on the green duffel bag and stuffed the edge of it under the saddle but over the saddle pad.

She knew that the horse would get tired easily from all the weight it was carrying; she also knew that she had to deal with it. Whether it takes her weeks to get farther west or months she would get there. Time didn't really matter to her all that much anymore.

She clambered back onto the horse and gave it a nudge with her heels, the animal started off in a walk and she rode until she came upon a car with writing on the windshield and foodstuffs on the hood. She stopped the horse once again and then sat there, looking at it until comprehension rose. It was a message to the little girl, the little girl who had died.

Sonora frowned and shook her head, looking at the sun as it rose into the sky. From the position it was in she knew it had to be around six thirty or seven without looking at her watch. She did look at her watch though, just to confirm the time.

Six fifty three, she was almost correct.

Sonora adjusted her seat and then turned the horse to the south, she was about to give the black animal a kick when she heard the sound of a motor. She stopped her movements and looked around, seeing a car come up near her and then stop. Sonora furrowed her brow and held still as the car was brought to a stop and then turned off before the driver's side door was popped open and then someone climbed out.

"I was wondering if we would see you again."

She groaned as Rick shut the door and walked towards her, looking at the hood of the car beside her after a minute. "What happened to the farm?" she asked, keeping her hands on the horn of the saddle and leaning forward a little.

Rick glanced up at her as more people climbed out of the car behind him. "Walkers, we burnt the barn and left." He told her, frowning.

Sonora sat on the horse, her eyes closing for a moment before reopening. "Who was lost?" she asked, curiously, tilting her head to one side.

Rick sighed. "Shane, and Jimmy and Patricia." He stated, those were the ones he'd seen with his own eyes. "I don't know who else, we were all split up." He sighed and looked down before returning to the others to talk things over with them.

Sonora noticed Hershel eyeing the horse; she drew the reins back towards her belly and the animal backed up a few steps. The old man frowned before Rick re-captured his attention.

Then the others began arriving, Sonora noted that Daryl had Carol on the back of his motorcycle. The man looked a little relieved to see Sonora sitting there, watching them discuss where to go next. She sighed and shifted her weight, moving the reins from both hands to her left hand, and then kicked the horse lightly to get it moving.

She was standing by her decision to leave them, if they met up later then that's what happened. But she wasn't staying any longer.

"Where you headed?" her father's voice cut through the air.

Sonora halted the animal and turned to look at him. "Away, I'm going west towards Texas or Mexico. Maybe I'll find someplace I can sit for a while." She shrugged and turned back around.

Before anyone could say anything else she gave the horse a sharp kick, the animal jumped and then raced forward. She jerked and then held on for dear life as she rode away from her father and the group he was with.

….

End of Arc 1


	7. Arc 2

Sonora stretched her legs and looked over to the stream, walking to it and bending to see into its depths. No fish, that she could see, ah well, it was probably better that way. She stood upright and turned back to the horse, it was standing beside the tree she had tied it to and had taken to nibbling at the greenery sprouting around the roots.

Sonora shook her head and then her whole body, getting herself out of her own thoughts. She needed to take a short walk around the clearing she'd stopped at, get her legs used to bearing weight again because damn it she'd been on that fucking horse for three days and if she wasn't going to feel it here in a little while she might just do cartwheels.

She sighed, grumbling as she took a look around while she walked; it was a nice clearing, no thick trees obscuring any views, a few flowers blooming here and there. That wasn't so unusual, it was getting into summer and flowers had blooming here and there for days. Sonora stopped walking and turned to look at the black horse, it had stopped it's eating to itch at a spot on its leg.

She walked back over to the animal and untied it from the tree, flipping the reigns over the horn of the saddle and then placing her booted foot in the stirrup, hauling herself up. She was getting better at riding the horse, after spending all winter either on it or near it, and since the horse was her only companion she easily attuned herself to its instincts. The black horse knew when there were walkers about when Sonora didn't. After a couple of weeks of the animal suddenly bolting, and nearly throwing her at the same time, she finally learned the signs of when the gelding sensed the walkers.

"Should be reaching something today, passed that downed fence earlier, maybe it's another farm or something. Hell, I hope someone's there, maybe we can scrounge for a little while." Sonora said, rubbing a hand down the horse's neck as it walked through trees. She clucked her tongue and relaxed a little as she cantered the horse through the rest of the woods. The trees getting more and more sparse until they were finally free of them and in a clearing surrounding a house, barn, and a pond.

A slight feeling of déjà vu hit her as she saw a few people working around in the fields. She slowed the horse and rose in her seat, watching the strangers closely. Noticing no stumbling or growling she moved the horse forward. "Hello! I'm friendly, and tired!" she called when one of the people looked up and had started yelling.

Sonora made the horse trot up to the people and then stopped it, leaning back in her saddle and placing her hands, one on top of the other, on the horn of it. "Hi, my name's Sonora, and I'm tired, and hungry, can I set up camp out here for a little while?" she asked the woman at the foremost of the small crowd.

The rest of them, a vaguely small collection of people, all glanced at the slightly elderly woman in front of them.

Sonora raised a hand and rubbed at her mouth, her eyes sweeping over the woman as well. Her hair was peppered with grey, and lines ran around her face. She had a kind look in her eyes, however, and after surveying Sonora for a moment she nodded.

"Stay here however long you need, the horse can be put in with the others. Jonathon can look after it. Lunch is in a few hours. I suspect you'll be setting up a tent?" she asked, her hand rising to shield her eyes from the sun peeking over Sonora's left shoulder.

"Yea, I haven't had much use for it till now, mostly been sleeping on the horse's back, a rope tied on to keep me from falling off. It'll be nice to sleep lying down for once." Sonora dismounted and swung her reigns over the horses head. "But if you don't mind I'll take care of him myself. We've turned into something like friends over those long months. Just help me to the barn and I'll set him up. No doubt ya'll have a lot on your hands as it is."

The woman nodded. "My name's Anne, this here is Jonathon, and you'll meet the rest of them throughout the day. Seeing as you're going to be staying for a piece you'll need to keep yourself busy. We're getting our vegetables ready for the harvest. Planted them early, so we wouldn't be without." The woman smiled. "But I'm keeping you too long, see to your horse and then come find me; I'll show you where you can put your tent." She stated.

Sonora nodded and looked around for the Jonathon guy. He waved a little to get her attention and then they both turned and he led her to the barn. Sonora stayed silent through the entire walk, as did Jonathon, her eyes moving around and taking in the scenery as they neared the structure that smelled of hay and horses.

The black horse lifted his head and whinnied a little as the wind shifted, a little while later a few more knickers and whinny's split the air.

"Sounds like quite a few horses… how are ya'll feeding them? Hay and grass? Or do ya'll have some secret stock pile of feed somewhere?" Sonora questioned, looking over at Jonathon as they reached the barn doors and he rolled them opened.

Jonathon shrugged. "We make a go into town every couple of weeks. First few times, though, we got all of the horse feed from the store. It'll probably ruin before he can feed it all to them but at least we're making an effort." He said, leading her to an empty stall before climbing up a ladder and forking down some hay into the stall as Sonora took her equipment off the horse. "How far have you ridden? Where you coming from and where are you going?" he asked in return to her questions.

Sonora looked up at him, her black hat covering most of her face. "I don't exactly know how far I've gone; just that I know I'm trying to get to Texas. I came from Georgia, so how far have I ridden? I had a map until one day I didn't." she stated, placing the saddle from the horses back onto the floor of the barn.

Jonathon climbed down from the loft, swinging around a beam to stare at her. "Well… you might not like this. You're in Juliette, Georgia." He stated.

Sonora frowned. "Son of a bitch." She muttered, turning to the horse and smacking its side a little. "You were supposed to take me to Texas!" she snapped, shaking her head at the animal as it stared at her, what seemed to be a bored light entering its eyes.

Jonathon gaped at the black haired woman who talked to the horse in front of her. Maybe she was just a little crazy, he thought, discreetly giving her a once over as she berated the horse and began to rub it down. "How old are you?" he finally asked, looking back up and finding that she had slipped the bridle from the horse's mouth and had it walking inside the stall.

"Twenty, my birthday passed at least a month ago, had a nutty bar as the cake." Sonora grinned slightly. "No ice cream though, or presents… unless you count getting a new pair of knives from a Bass Pro shop in Alabama…" she paused, a frown covering her face for a moment. "I think it was near Birmingham…"

Jonathon shrugged. "If you're thinking of the one that's in the middle of that state then yea, it was near Birmingham. Leeds was the town. I used to live there." He stated, seeing the look of mistrust on her face. "I came here after everything went to hell. This is my grandmother's place. It's really only me and her left, the others are survivors that stumbled across our place and never left." He explained.

Sonora nodded, glancing at the horse in the stall before letting her eyes roam. There were probably three other horses, in all, in this barn. Two of them were rather large, and looked strong. Work horses, no doubt. The people here probably used them to dig trenches into the ground, for the crops. The last horse was smaller than the other two, but still held the look of a giant. No doubt a foal, probably a three year old.

Sonora had stopped by a bookstore once or twice, reading up on horses and answering a lot of questions for herself.

"So how long are you going to stay here?" Jonathon asked, drawing Sonora from her thoughts, he had seen the distant look in her eyes, and he wondered what she had been thinking.

Sonora looked over at him. "I don't know, long enough to get sorted out, and maybe hunt a little bit. My father showed me how to, so I'll get started on that in a couple of days. Fresh meat is always better than jerky." She smiled a little and then looked down at her saddle. "Anywhere I can store this?" she asked.

Jonathon nodded, gesturing for her to follow, Sonora stooped and untied her duffle bag from the back of the saddle and then picked both up on either arm, walking after him towards a door at the end of the barn. "We keep the tack here; it's dry and has a few empty stands. Pick where you want to place your equipment and then we'll head back to my grannies, she'll be able to tell you where to set up by now." He stated, leaning against the door and watching as Sonora dropped her duffle bag and threw the saddle onto a stand. She dropped the bridle onto the horn and then turned to Jonathon, picking the duffle back up and nodding to him. "Well come on then." He said, turning and leading the way out of the barn.

…..

Sonora sat at her campfire a few days later, slowly turning a small stick in her hands over and over. She glanced up and looked around the clearing, but nothing showed itself, a cow lowed from the pasture in front of the house, and a horse neighed from the barn. But aside from that all was silent, Sonora looked back down at her stick and sighed a little before throwing it into the fire.

She didn't really need a fire, the hot summer days had melted into hot summer nights, but she felt a little better with it.

A twig breaking under something had her standing, sword slipping out of its scabbard, and staring into the surrounding darkness. She whirled around a few times, trying to pinpoint where the noise had come from but she neither heard nor saw anything. She remained tense, however, and remained standing for a few moments more.

"It's just me." A small voice said, Sonora instantly shifted into a casual stance, her sword going back into its home and the tenseness bleeding out of her frame.

A dark head of hair popped out from around a tree, Sonora turned her head and stared at the figure. "Shouldn't you be… inside?" she asked, sitting back down and picking up another stick. She twirled it in her hands and looked over at the woman who came to sit next to her.

"Well it is really hot in the house, no air conditioning, so I decided to come outside. You looked lonely all the way over here, and so I thought you would like some company." The woman stated, looking into the fir.

Sonora shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me if I'm lonely, been traveling alone all these months, in fact, I think I like being alone. People are loud, and being alone means you don't have to constantly be on the lookout because the person you're traveling with decided to yell or something."

The woman frowned. "But being alone means you have to constantly look over your shoulder, and sleep with one eye open. You don't have anyone to talk to, or share your thoughts with. That would be totally sad for me. I could never be alone in this world." She said.

"Alone means alone, I like being alone Alice, besides, the horse is company enough for me. He looks over his shoulder, and runs when there is danger." Sonora stated, throwing a look over her shoulder at the horse barn.

As if called the deep throated neigh of her horse pierced the night air.

"When are you going to name him? He can't go on being called 'the horse' for the rest of his life." Alice picked up a stick, playing with it like Sonora was.

"Oh, I've been thinking of naming him Thor, but that's stupid. Another name is Famine, which I do like." Sonora looked back over at Alice.

The older woman frowned. "What a horrid name." she said, wrinkling her nose a little.

Sonora smiled. "Famine it is, oh he will be so delighted to hear his new name. The old one was getting a bit boring." She stated, laughing a little.

Sonora felt that she had made great bounds with getting control over her slightly maniacal laughing fits. She hardly laughed like that at all anymore, unless she was killing the walkers, then she laughed until a stitch developed in her side and she had to kick the horse to get him to race away from the nightmarish scene of walkers coming after them with their bloody limbs outstretched and their hungry eyes and moans following her and the horse for miles. Sometimes she would stay awake at night, shivering at the memories of the walkers reaching for her.

But still, she was making great progress in her effort to appear normal… or so she hoped.

Alice remained silent, watching Sonora with distant eyes. "Sonora, you seem like a decent person. Don't you have a few friends or family in this hell of a world?" she asked.

Sonora blinked, her mind instantly bringing forth images of her father, and of the people he stayed with. She frowned a little. "My father is with some people, they're somewhere here in Georgia. My mother is dead." She said simply.

Alice frowned as well. "How come you don't stay with your father and his group?" she queried.

Sonora snorted. "I don't like big groups, plus there was some tension between me and the leader's wife… she's a bitch ya know? Well, I may cross them again, trying to head back west. I'll probably pick up a few more maps when I leave, having only one is a bit… detrimental to my trying to head west." She laughed a little, however there was hardly any mirth in it.

Alice shook her head. "Well, when you do leave, make sure to say good-bye, I'm sure a few others in this group will be sad to see you go, you've been a big help around here. Especially on that horse when we bring in the cattle for milking. How long have you known how to ride?"

Sonora did laugh humorously then. "Since last year, one of the things my father did for me. I actually saved that horse, in a way. I didn't know it at the time but the farm we were staying on was overrun with walkers, it was this big horde ya know? Well I had already kicked rocks with the place by then, met up with my dad and his group the next day, they burnt down a barn and left. No doubt those other horses are either dead or running around somewhere." She stated, throwing her stick in the fire. She picked another one up and began picking at it with a thumb nail.

Alice shook her head and looked up at the sky. "I'm going to go back to the house, it's getting late and we have a lot of things to do tomorrow. Maybe you should go to bed as well." She said, standing and throwing the stick she had been playing with in the fire.

Sonora nodded, staying seated and watching the older woman leave. She waited at least another hour before getting up and, instead of going in her tent and sleeping, started taking her stuff out of it and placing it by the log she had been sitting on.

She folded the bedroll and then stuffed her small items into the duffel bag. She then left the tent and zipped the front of it up, glancing at it before picking her things up and walking towards the barn. She reached the large tan structure and opened the door, she squeezed in and then shut the door again, and turning the barn lights on when she was sure the door was fully shut.

One of the horses nickered and Sonora dropped her things by the door to the tack room. She walked over to Famine's temporary stall and opened the door to it, grabbing his halter when he walked over to her. Sonora placed her hand on his head, between his eyes, and slid it down. He snorted quietly, Sonora smiled and took the lead rope from the wall beside her shoulder and clipped it to the bottom of the halter.

"We're leaving tonight Famine, too long and I won't want to. These people aren't at all like what dad's group was like." She whispered to the horse. Famine nickered and Sonora led him to the tack room, tying him up outside of it and then going to the tack room for her stuff. She put his saddle and other tack on him, making sure everything was tight, before pulling her duffel bag over and pushing it up onto the saddle, tying it off and then putting the bedroll on top of it, she was just tying that off when the barn door rolled open and two dark figures appeared in its shadow.

"I thought you would be leaving soon, you had a restless look in your eyes." The old woman said, coming into the light and lowering her lamp.

Sonora glanced over to her, her hands falling to her sides. "I'm sorry about leaving without a good-bye ma'am, but I don't think they're my forte." She stated, picking the bridle up from the hook in the wall and pulling it over Famine's head. He took the bit without complaint and she buckled it.

"It's no matter, I just want to ask you something…" the second figure stepped out of the shadows of the door, Sonora frowned when she saw the dark looking man, who still had yet to introduce himself, come up behind Anne. "Take Conner with you, he's got a restless spirit himself, and maybe you'll be able to keep him safe with you." Anne smiled a little.

Conner stared at Sonora, his dark eyes seemed bottomless. Sonora frowned and glanced at Famine. "Ma'am, I don't think that would be a good idea, Famine here can only take so much weight at a time, and I would rather not burden him with anymore of it." She said, patting her horse's neck and then sliding her hand under his mane to scratch him.

Anne glanced back Conner. "Get Moon out boy, you'll be taking him." She ordered.

Sonora stepped forward as Conner walked to one of the stalls. "Now wait, I won't have you one horse less, you have a farm to work with that animal, and if Conner takes him then you won't have a team to work the field." She stated.

Anne shook her head. "The three year old is halfway trained, and Molly is in foal to Moon again. We'll have three horses again soon, so this won't matter." She told Sonora, watching as the younger woman turned to see Conner leading a pale stallion from the stall.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Sonora said, turning back to Anne. "What does he use as a weapon? A gun? Can't have anything like that, too loud, draws walkers from all over the place." She turned back to Conner as he tied the slightly larger horse next to Famine.

"I use a silencer." Conner stated, looking over to Sonora before moving into the tack room.

"Well, what about when you run out of ammo? I don't know where a lot of outdoor's places are." She said, turning back to Anne. "I don't know why you want me to take him, I get that he wants to leave. But sending him out with me might get him killed."

Anne shook her head. "It was either this or wake up one morning and finding him gone, no I think he'll last longer with you than on his own." She told Sonora, both of the women watching as Conner tacked up the other horse swiftly and with an obvious air of having done this before.

Sonora sighed, shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm doing this." She muttered. "Well, do you have anything with you? How old are you anyway?" she suddenly asked.

Conner rolled his eyes. "I'm fecking twenty three." He said, pushing the bridle up onto Moon's face.

Anne sighed. "I'll get his things, they're right outside the door." She told Sonora, turning and walking back to the entrance of the barn and grabbing a large green pack and then walking back over to the two. Conner walked over and took it from her, giving the elderly grandmother a hug before going back to Moon and hauling his butt into the saddle.

Sonora turned back to Anne, she walked towards her and held out her hand, Anne ignored her hand and gave her a hug instead. "If we ever see you again you'll be welcome for as long as you like." She told the young woman.

Sonora sighed and nodded. "If I ever see my dad and his group again, and they're going in this direction, I'll point them here." She stated.

Anne nodded and then watched as Sonora mounted her own horse and then looked over at Conner. "Stay safe you two." She said.

Sonora nodded, reaching behind her and grabbing the hat on her bedroll, she'd put it there after grabbing it from the saddle when she'd grabbed the tack. She placed the hat on her head, put the trench coat on, and then clucked to her horse.

"Bye Anne." Conner said, waving at her as he followed after Sonora. He had a bit of a hard time locating Sonora after they left the light of the barn, but then he noticed that her saddle had a small light on it.

He moved his horse up so he was riding along beside her. "So why horses?" he asked as they cantered across the yard and made for the front gate.

Sonora looked over at him. "Don't run out of gas after twenty miles do they?" She answered.

….

Weeks later they were a bit more companionable.

"So what country are you from again? I know the accent; I just can't place it…" Sonora finally said after hours of contemplating the question. She'd given up trying to figure out where he was from when her thoughts were simply filled with where they were going to sleep that night, to how they were going to eat.

Conner looked over at her, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Ireland." He says; which makes his collection of one word answers go up to ninety nine. She'd been counting since the Tuesday before last.

"Ah, well in any case, it's a cool accent." Sonora stated, looking around as they rode out into a clearing. Famine stumbled a bit and Sonora looked down to see that they were now riding down a railroad track.

Conner looked around as well and then suddenly drew his horse up. "Ey, look at that will ye?" he said, pointing to the right.

Sonora stopped her horse as well and looked in the direction he was pointing. She narrowed her eyes and reached around for the backpack she kept on her right shoulder. She dug around in it before bringing out a pair of binoculars. She lifted them up to her eyes and then looked at the prison again.

After a minute she brought them down.

"We'll I'll be damned." She said softly, handing the binoculars to Conner and waiting as he looked through them.

"You know any of dem?" he asked, looking over at her.

"'Course I do, that man with the crossbow on his back is my father. Looks like they've gotten themselves a whole damn prison. Let's go see what they're up to." Sonora reined Famine around and started off down the hill at a slow walk. Once she made it to flat ground she kicked the horse and held on as he broke into a gallop.

Conner's whoop came from behind her, making her grin a little as tears from the wind streaked down her ruddy cheeks.

When they got alongside the outside of the fence she slowed down so Conner could get up beside her. "Race ya to the gate." She said, pointing to the gate around the corner.

Ye're on!" he said, spurring his horse faster, Sonora shot after him on Famine, both of the horses stretching out as they rounded the turn and then leveling with each other. Sonora heard shouts as they were spotted, but she kept her attention on the gate. Her horse's head was a little more in front than his, and she wanted to win this little competition.

But then Conner kicked Moon again and the stallion shot forward, winning their race by three inches.

They slowed the horses and came back around just as Rick, Glenn, and Daryl made it to the gate.

"I shoulda known it was you." Daryl said, glowering at her.

Sonora shrugged. "I'm the only one stupid enough to stage a horse race just outside a prison." She told her father.

Rick sighed. "How you doin Sonora?" he asked as she and Conner slid from their horses.

"Good, hey dad meet my husband." She threw an arm around Conner's shoulder as Daryl turned his eyes to the dark haired Irishman and gave him a glare.

….

~A/N: This is probably how long I'll try to make the rest of the chapters from here on out. If you don't like it then tell me. If you want them longer then suck it up.

Anyway, hi I'm back!


	8. Taking of the Semi Squishing of the Head

Sonora dropped her knife set back onto the top bunk of the cell she had been assigned to and then fell onto the bottom one with a groan and a thump. It hurt her belly but she didn't really care at that moment. All of those days of riding had finally caught up to her and her legs were screaming with every step she took. Conner seemed to be of the same mindset, he was lying underneath her, on his own belly, muttering curses under his breath.

"You make a pretty good pillow Con, bit lumpy on the pockets and back but still, best pillow I've ever had, all warm and not smelling of dogs…" Sonora muttered, lifting an aching leg slowly and then lowering it, trying to ease the sore muscles.

"Shuddap, when you going to tell your dad we're not actually married?" he asked, turning his head and looking at her from the corner of one eye. "I'm tired of the death threat looks he keeps giving me when we're doing something." He groaned again as Sonora shifted her weight and leaned up so her elbows were digging into his back, placing her chin in the cup made by her hands.

"Well, its Monday now… I think… and we've been here for a week… so probably tomorrow." She smiled slightly and then rolled to the left, standing and stretching as she got up off of Conner. She smiled a little and picked the katana up from the corner next to the door. "Come on, we gotta finish taking the bunks out of the cells we're going to put the horses in, don't want those two rogue prisoners eating them do we?" she poked Conner in the side with the butt of the sheath and then strolled out of the cell whistling yankee doodle.

Another groan and shuffling told her that Conner had heeded her words and was now following her. "At least we were able to find a couple of tools, if we hadn't we probably would have had to of found some sort of way to get those bunks out by pure manpower." He said, his voice coming from behind her and slightly to the right.

Sonora shrugged. "If we hadn't found the tools those horses would have had to stay in the cells with the bunks, I ain't lettin' them be hunted down by some prison cell hobo who hadn't done shit with his life so he figures he can bunk up in one of our nations fine facilities. Free of fuckin' charge." She told Conner, turning a corner and opening the door to the outside, a gust of air brought in some heat waves. "Ah, the sun, our friend and constant companion." Sonora stepped out and spread her arm, lifting her face to the sun and twirling around a little.

"I don't see how you can be in love with the sun when it's trying to roast you alive; it's like a hundred degrees out here for Christ's sake!" Conner walked out of the prison and shut the door behind him. He walked past her and towards the little area where the horses could be seen grazing, their tails swishing occasionally.

Sonora followed after him, her arms swinging at her sides, one sometimes bumping into the sword on her back. "Well, have you spent the winter freezing your ass off while on the move? Trying to get away from walkers who would like nothing more than for either me or the horse to get hurt so they could have lunch?" she asked.

"Well no, but I'm not the idiot who decided staying outside all winter and nearly freezing my ass of every day and night would be more welcome than being in a house." Conner threw back at her, finally reaching the pale horse he had ridden and grabbing the halter.

"Well I can't see me trying to get the horse into the house, cause I damn sure ain't walking my ass to Texas, and trying to get it back out again. Never mind what would happen if the walkers tried to get it in and eat us." She shook her head. "No, I think staying outside all winter was for the better, even if I did freeze my balls off the entire time… Fuck! I'll just go to South America or something! Somewhere it's warm all winter, and I can keep away from most of the walkers… Heeey, do you think those remote tribes that live everywhere in that continent are still alive? I mean, they fought off leopards and shit, what's a few zombies to them? Unless they tried to eat the walker meat…" Sonora trailed off as Famine nudged her hand, looking for something to eat.

"You talk too much, maybe I should look into some duct tape whenever you're around, just tape your mouth shut and not have to listen to your rabble." Conner sighed and turned to face the woman the old woman had sent him off with. "I should go back to Anne and complain, or maybe I should go talk to Rick, file a complaint. He could lock you up, we're already in a prison." He smirked as she flipped him off and grabbed her horses halter.

"Yea well you wouldn't get very far with that, I don't think Rick would want to hear every jail song I know sung loud and clear from wherever they lock me up. Daddy dearest would probably stitch my lips shut…" Sonora looked thoughtful.

"Gah, just shut up and come on, I'm not even sure these horses will fit in the cells, now that I'm lookin' at them." Conner trailed an eye over Moon's body.

Sonora frowned. "They'll fit, we just have to make sure they don't freak out or they could hurt themselves on something, like on the toilet or something." She stated, turning and leading Famine away, going back to the door that they had come through in the first place. "I've been thinking, as soon as we're done resting up here… maybe we _should_ head south, I wasn't exactly kidding when I said I wanted to go to South America… though maybe, if we can rig it, we could go to like Hawaii or something. Remote islands, not too many people on them in the first place, it would be something to look into, don't you think?" she turned to face Conner, who was walking behind her, a thoughtful look to his face. "Hell, they might not have zombies on that island at all… though that's doubtful." Sonora frowned.

Conner shook his head. "What's so bad about staying here with your dad and his group?" he asked quietly, looking up into the corner where Daryl could be seen looking through a bag.

"Shit goes down a lot around this group, it's like they're cursed." Sonora whispered, also looking up to where her father was. "I was talking to Glenn when I was last with them; they've been attacked by hordes of walkers wherever they go. Atlanta, Hershel's farm, I can only think that this place is next. Anyway, I don't want to be around when that happens." She finished, stopping in front of a cell and looking into it.

"Well would you look at that, someone took the remaining bunks out of the cell for us. Hold on let me check the other one." She stated, letting go of Famine's halter and walking to the next cell, nodding brightly as she turned back to Conner. "Yea, whoever did this is alright, both cells have been divested of the bunks. Put moon in that one, I'll have Famine in this one." She instructed, pointing to the cell she had just checked and then grabbing Famine's halter and leading him to it.

Conner rolled his eyes and led Moon to the cell, turning him around and backing him into it. The stallion snorted nervously and flung his head up a couple of times but Conner held him steady and talked to him softly as he coaxed the big animal into the cell. Clanging to his right alerted him to Sonora shutting her horse in its cell, he frowned, geldings were always easier than stallions.

Sonora stepped up beside him and helped him push Moon back into the stall; Conner reached over and grabbed the door, pulling it shut with a slight rattle. "Hey maybe we should grab one of the cars and go check out the nearest town for horse feed, we only have a couple of pounds on each of us, and that's not going to last long at all." She stated, resting her right side on the bars of the cell slash stall and staring up at Conner.

Conner shrugged. "You sure they'll let us use one of their vehicles? Besides, you know that Woodbury is off limits, remember what Anne told you that second night you were at the farm? The closest town is Zebulon, and that's probably ten minutes… maybe." he stated, reaching up and scratching his neck.

Sonora shrugged. "As long as it has the supplies we need then I'm cool with it. Come on; let's go talk to Rick about it." She turned and walked off, Conner following her, and Daryl looking up to watch them leave.

He scoffed at the way the Conner boy followed his daughter, married, he thought, where in the seven hells did they find a preacher to get them married? He shook his head and then climbed down from his perch, following them. If he'd heard them right then they were going to try and go to town, he'd go with them. Just to see what he could pick up.

…

Sonora slid into the driver's seat, clicking her seatbelt into place and then shutting the door. Conner hopped into the back and Daryl sat in the front passenger seat. Sonora started the engine and then shifted the silver Chevy truck into gear. Conner leaned forward a little and reached under his seat, fingers searching for anything useful he might find. Daryl glanced back at him and frowned. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

Conner spared a glance towards him. "CDs, I'm seeing if whoever owned this truck had any music in here. If I were to put anything in mine it would either be in the visor, or under one of the seats. Seeing as the visor has nothing to hold CDs with, I'm guessing, if there are CDs, then they'll be under a seat somewhere." He explained.

Daryl just looked back to the front of the truck.

Sonora lifted her eyes to the rearview mirror and watched Conner for a little while. "I don't think whoever had the truck had CDs, we'll see about finding a music store here in town, maybe we could find some decent music." She stated, looking towards the road and watching a walker walk around in circles. "Plus, if we find something big to drive we can find a converter and a small TV and DVD player… movies. Now there is something to look forward to." She smiled a little.

Daryl looked a little concerned. "The only thing big enough to power a converter plus what you're talking about is an eighteen wheeler, do you know how to drive one of those?" he asked, looking towards her and narrowing his eyes. "What did you do for a living anyway? You never told us, all we got out of you was that you took lessons from some guy on how to use those weapons you have." He stated.

Sonora smiled, the first smile he'd seen her wear since she'd rejoined the group. "I was a trucker, local only, but a trucker all the same. I had a CDL since I first turned eighteen. Only thing I wanted to do since I was a little girl riding in the back of my mom's car and seeing those big monsters come roaring by us." She explained.

Daryl made a noise in the back of his throat and Conner stared at her. "What makes you think that we'll find a truck you could drive, hell, the only trucks I've seen are usually turned over or something." He stated.

Daryl nodded, agreeing with Conner for once.

"Well, if I do remember, there is a trucking company somewhere around this town we're going to, and if I remember correctly, they had some pretty nice trucks…" Sonora trailed off as she turned a corner and then looked over at Daryl and then back at Conner. "I do have a very good memory, and I know where this company is, I ran right by it more than once." She told them. "After we gather our stuff we can run past it and see if they still have a truck or two in the yard. Maybe a trailer, if we need it." She stated, turning another corner and then driving a few more miles.

"Here we are." Conner said, looking through the windshield into town. A couple of walkers were dragging themselves around but other than that it was fairly empty.

"Looks like everyone is either gone or walkers." Conner muttered.

Daryl sighed. "There's probably more in the stores and alleyways, we'll just have to be careful." He stated.

Sonora pulled into a parking lot that boasted burnt, turned over, and wrecked cars. It also held a wal-mart. Sonora pulled right up to the front of the building, in front of a pair of automated doors. She stopped the truck and turned it off, pulling the keys from the ignition. "Okay, so the plan is to get as much as you can carry, once we grab what we need then we can carry it all back out here to the truck and load it into the back. We stay together and take out any walkers we see. There are probably quite a few since this _is_ wal-mart we're talking about. Ya'll ready?" she asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Yea, let's go already." Daryl opened his door and then shut it, Conner climbed out after Sonora and then Sonora locked the doors. They traveled into the shopping center and all three grabbed two buggies each.

"If we can fit all of what we grab into the bed of the truck then I think we'll be okay." Sonora whispered, looking around while wheeling her buggies behind her with both hands. Her sword felt heavy on her back, and it gave her a little comfort, but the two men on her sides made her feel even better.

"Canned foods first. We'll have to travel to the back of the store later, see if there's anything worth getting in there." Conner said, turning to the right and leading the other two towards the food area.

…

"This can't be right." Sonora furrowed her brow and picked at the glass from the ruined display case in front of her.

"Seems right to me, what you expected this place not to be raided?" Daryl asked from behind the counter where he was bent over trying to get into the locked drawers.

"What? No, not that. This price tag says that they had been selling a nine millimeter Glock for sixty dollars. I wonder if it was defective…" she pointed to the tag she had been reading, Conner leaned over and chuckled. "Shut up." Sonora said, smacking the back of his head.

"Finally." Daryl said, the sound of the drawers opening came after his words and he reached into it, pulling a few cases of shells out from where he had been trying to get at.

Sonora piled the cases into her buggy and then, when they were done with that, turned and looked at the six buggies they had stacked high with stuff. Only one and a half filled with canned food those were the two Conner had. Hers had been filled with all the clothes they could find. Daryl's had one filled up with camping supplies and deer feed, and the other was empty. They'd killed the walkers they'd run into silently, so far their luck was good. Sonora's mind was viewing things to go bad soon. Probably not too soon, but soon enough.

"Okay, back to the electronics. I still want to check out the CD collection this store has." Conner stated.

Sonora nodded, watching as Daryl picked up a couple of boxes of knives from the floor underneath a shelf. He dumped them into the buggy and then all three wheeled to the back of the store and began picking through the aisles. "Looks like no one bothered with this area… at all." She observed.

"Well when you're running for your life it doesn't really seem important to grab a few luxury items." Conner stated, entering the CD aisle and grabbing all the CDs he could pick up, tossing them into his buggy haphazardly and then moving on to the next stack.

"Oh look, they sold Bob Marley here." Sonora pointed to a couple of CDs in front of her and then watched as Conner practically flew in front of her to pick them up.

"Kids." Daryl grumbled, keeping a lookout from the end of the aisle, his crossbow held aloft.

Sonora helped Conner with the rest of the CDs and then they all wheeled towards the TVs. She was beginning to draw some conclusions. It seemed as if Rick was all the bad luck, she felt sure on it this time. It wasn't his group or anyone else, it was _Rick_. Sonora nodded to herself as she picked up a large thirty five inch TV and then dumped it into Daryl's empty cart. He glanced at it and then rolled his eyes, turning back around and walking a few steps away. Sonora kept looking through the shelf below the TVs and picked up a few more items before they all went to the DVD and DVD player aisle.

…

Sonora jumped into the truck and then grinned at the two beside her. "Now wasn't that fun? Full tank of gas and only ten walkers to fight for it." She stated. Daryl shrugged; he seemed to be drawing more into himself with every passing moment of this trip. Sonora wondered if it was because of Conner, she still hadn't told him that the whole marriage thing had been a joke. She sighed a kept driving, taking the turns where she was supposed to before coming up to a large building with a chain link fence running across the front.

Okay, we're here." Sonora stopped the truck in front of the chain link fence and then gestured for Conner to get out and cut it. He grumbled and then jumped out of the truck, running around the front to get to the fence and cut the chain holding it together. He then rolled open one side and held it until Sonora had driven through, he then shut the fence once more and ran to catch up to the idling truck.

Sonora smiled at him as he got into the cramped truck. "Sorry about making you sit with that stuff Conner, but I am not having you two up here and fighting about who's touching who." She said, pushing in the accelerator and navigating around the back of the building. "Ah… here we are, and… of course, there _they_ are." She frowned as she saw walkers ambling through the truck yard, their growls unheard through the windshield.

"Don't you think this is a little dangerous? There has to be thirty to forty walkers out there." Conner said, looking around the lot with wide eyes. Daryl chewed on his left thumbnail, his own eyes traveling to each of the walkers.

Sonora frowned. "Maybe we can lead them off to one side and then race back here to get some keys to a truck before they come back…" she trailed off and then suddenly jumped as a walker came out of nowhere and pounded on the glass of the winder on her door. She growled lowly and sped up, her eyes searching between all of the trucks before nodded slightly. "Okay, here's what we'll do, Dad, you'll drive while I ride shotgun and roll the window down a little bit. I'll stick my sword out and cut these mutherfuckers to ribbons. That should take care of a good half of them." She stated, her eyes on a big black, flat nosed, freightliner in between two white, slope nosed, peterbilts with red lettering on them. "When we get enough of them down you'll drive me back over here and drop me off between these three trucks, I'll take that hose pipe beside you, Conner, and siphon as much gas as I can while ya'll draw the walkers away again. Then, if all goes well, we'll be heading off with my own damn truck. I just hope I can get the keys…" she stopped suddenly as they rounded a corner and saw a fat walker with a black leather jacket and jeans on. "That poor fat bastard… I think he has my keys." She zeroed her gaze in on the walker, noticing the keys hanging from a holder on one of the belt loops on his pants.

"Alright, let's get moving then." She stated, turning the wheel and running over the fat walker, backing up and then doing it again, this time making sure one of the wheels popped its head like a melon. She put the truck back in reverse and then backed up, stopping and jumping out to run to the walker and trying to grab the keys from the belt loop. A cry made her look around.

"Sonora! To your right!" Conner called out through the open door. She looked up and to the right, a female walker in what looked like mechanics gear was stumbling towards her. Sonora looked back down and grappled with the ring that the keys were on, finally just placing her foot on the walker's hip and tearing at them, ripping the belt loop off and then rushing back towards the truck. Daryl had already slid into the driver's side, so Sonora just opened the door to her own side and jumped in, a second before the walkers fingers scrabbled onto the silver paint of the door.

"Fuck." She exclaimed, leaning her head back and taking deep breaths, the keys in her hand jingling slightly. She opened her eyes and looked down at them, sorting through them before finding the one that she needed.

"How did you know it was the fat walker that had them?" Conner asked, rummaging through the shit beside him to draw out Sonora's sword and the loop of garden hose.

"Did you not see that freightliner? Of course it was the fat walker that had them. I knew that guy." She stated, looking back towards him and taking her things when he handed them to her.

"Oh." Conner leaned back and watched as she rolled down the window and unsheathed the sword. "Want me to hold on to your waist so you don't fall out?" he asked, leaning forward and unbuckling her seatbelt.

Sonora nodded, sliding her upper body out of the Silverado and sitting on the window. "When you're ready dad." She said, swinging her sword and getting the feel of it again.

Daryl grumbled and then shifted the truck into gear, Conner crawled forward out of the back and sat in the passenger seat and wrapped his arms around Sonora's waist, holding her as Daryl raced around the yard, Sonora let out a high pitched yell, drawing the walkers towards them as she swung, and swung, and swung. The walkers were going down, sometimes two at a time.

Soon though Sonora slipped back inside, sitting down roughly on Conner, put the sword point down between her legs and started rubbing her right arm. "My arms are getting tired." She stated, rolling the window back up.

Daryl nodded, driving the truck around and bringing it to a quick stop in front of the three eighteen wheelers. "Hurry the fuck up." He said as Sonora grabbed her sword and the hose before jumping out of the truck.

"Just keep the walkers busy." She stated, slamming the door shut and running between the trucks. She tried the key in the door and popped it open, checking the inside quickly before shutting it again and uncoiling the hose. She was glad they got the long one, because she had to now get it across the back of the truck and into the tank of the one beside the one she was trying to fuel up now.

Once the end of the hose was inside the tank of the white truck to her right she ran back around and picked the end up from the ground, bringing it to her mouth and sucking as she loosened the gas cap from her new prize. After a minute or two she felt the gasoline coming through the line and hurriedly pushed it into the tank, the sound of diesel fuel hitting the fuel already inside of the tank never sounded so good to her ears.

A walker's growling had her looking up; one was stumbling around the corner, obviously having given up the chase of the silver truck. It saw her and rushed towards her, arms outstretched and teeth gnashing. Sonora grabbed her sword from the ground and raced towards the walker, swinging it in an arc and slicing the top half of its head clean off.

She poked her head out from between the two trucks and looked around, the first thing she saw was Daryl tearing through the gravel in the Silverado, the shit in the back swaying but not falling out thanks to the tarp they had tied on top of it. The walkers were still running after the truck so the one she had taken down just seemed to be the odd one out. Sonora retreated back between the eighteen wheelers and then climbed up onto the passenger side of the white one. She glanced around in it and then lifted her eyes, sighting the CB radio right where it should be.

Sonora jumped down and took the sword sheathe from her back, placing it on the ground before removing her shirt and wrapping it around her hand and arm. She climbed back on the rig and then gripped the bar to her left tightly; she looked around once more and then steeled herself, giving her right arm a few shakes before leaning back and ramming her fist into the glass pane of the window. Glass flew everywhere, shards of it hitting her hair and more than that falling into the seat. Sonora took her hand out and unwrapped the shirt, her hand already feeling a little numb.

She pulled the shirt back on and then popped the door open from the inside, leaning back as it swung towards her and then climbing inside. She looked around carefully but the day cab was clean. She reached up and pulled on the CB, it came cleanly from its mount in the roof and Sonora unhooked it from its cables, snapping the line that hooked the mouthpiece to the ceiling. She climbed back out of the cab and shut the door, she then turned and opened the door to the truck she was taking, hopping in and slipping the extra CB onto the side seat. She then turned the key in the ignition, not enough to start it, but enough to see how much fuel she had.

When the gauge came to rest just below the full line she gaped at it for a moment. Then she hurried out and pulled the hose, wrapping it up tightly and then storing it behind the driver's seat. She then picked up the sword and it's sheathe before climbing back into the truck and finally turning it on. '_No time for pre-trips now, nor do I want to stand out there and wait for those damn walkers to come and gobble me up like a hot meal on a cold day. Time to get out of here._' She shifted into gear and then pressed on the gas a little, the truck rolling forward before lurching. The trailer attached had jerked it, but Sonora had dealt with that for about three years now, she simply pressed a little harder on the gas to get rolling, when she did she saw Daryl and Conner come flying up beside her, checking the convex mirror she noticed one of the walkers stumble and fall underneath a dual tire. It was soon nothing to worry about.

They rolled out of the yard, Daryl stopping his truck long enough to let Conner shut the gate after Sonora drove through, and then they were on the road. Sonora glanced up at her CB and then reached over and grabbed the one she had taken from the other big truck. She slowed down to about twenty five and rolled down the window, watching as Daryl drove up so he was riding alongside her. Conner leaned out his window and Sonora carefully, oh so carefully, handed him the radio, shouting at him above the roar of her truck's engine. "Channel nineteen!"

Conner nodded as he grabbed the radio and then hunched back inside the Chevy, Sonora turned her CB on and tuned it to the channel she needed before waiting on Daryl and Conner. She noticed that Daryl had started pulling in front of her, so she let off the gas a little, giving him the chance to slide in front of her.

After a little while a voice came over the radio. "Hello? Can you hear me… over…?" Sonora chuckled, and then reached over and up for her own mike.

"Ten four Conner, now are there any more stops along this way or are we headed back to our base?" she replied, falling slightly back into the CB lingo she had talked for a long time. She saw the truck in front of her swerve a little before it regained its previous mobility and then Daryl's voice cut in.

"When the hell were you going to tell us the story of how you got into trucking?" he asked, the radio making his voice scratchy.

Sonora quirked her lips into a slight smile, she moved her thumb back over the button of the mic. "Well, I was seventeen with no money, and I had my license, so I decided to do what anyone would do who didn't want to work in a damned fast food place, I got myself a real job. Mom wasn't too happy about it, but I was making weekly paychecks so she couldn't really complain too much, especially after I started helping with the bills." She explained, finishing her speech and releasing the mic so it hung freely on the wire beside her head.

…

"What the hell…?" Glenn lowered his binoculars and then looked down at Rick. "Rick!" he called, watching as the other man jerked his head up. "You might want to open the gates, Sonora, Daryl, and Conner's back!" he paused, looking back at the dust cloud the large eighteen wheeler was kicking up. "They brought something huge!" he added, knowing that Rick couldn't see it yet.

Rick, Carl, and T-Dog ran to the gates and looked out, eyes widening as the big truck turned the corner and headed straight for them. They noticed their old truck next, riding in front of the black truck, Rick motioned for Carl to move and he stuck the key into the lock of the gate, unlatching the chain and then helping T-Dog push it out of the way as Carl stood to the side and watched as Daryl tore through the opened gate first, shortly after followed by Sonora and her semi. The boy then ran and helped his father close the gate, all three slamming it back shut before Rick locked it and then all of them turned and watched Sonora expertly backed the semi truck up and turn it off.

She jumped out and slammed the door shut, locking it and then walking forward to stand in front of it. "Ta-da!" she exclaimed, imitating a star and smiling at the shocked faces around her.

…..

~Yes, I do know T-Dog, and Lori (thank god) are dead now, but that will be next chapter.

For those of you wondering, yes there are female truck drivers out there, and yes it is legal for anyone to drive a truck as long as they're eighteen. They have to stay in their own state, however, so only those who are twenty one and older can drive all over.

I am in training to become a truck driver myself, this explains, hopefully, my lack of frequent updating. Please do forgive me for not updating weekly, for I have a lot on my hands at the moment.

Thank you for reading, I will not, under any circumstances, update again until I have two reviews by two different people.

Have a nice day!


	9. Beds? Beds

"Rick." Sonora stepped up so she was beside the former cop. They were outside looking around at the ground, finding a good spot to try and plant some vegetables and other food stuffs. She had been planning on talking to him now for about a week, after she, Daryl, and Conner had come back from that shopping trip with stuff the group needed, and stuff they had missed.

"Yea?" Rick turned to Sonora, his beard catching hints of light from the sun.

"I've been meaning to talk to you, come with me." She gestured for him to follow her and then started walking towards a small table that had what seemed a jillion little packets of seeds on it. She'd laid a map of the states over the packets and then had one of the Hawaii islands to the right of the original map. Once they were at the table Sonora pointed out a red marker line she'd drawn over the U.S. map. "I've been thinking, and I want you to hear me out on this one, what we have here, with the fences and all of that, is great. But there is still the chance of a herd or something coming this way and tearing those fences down." She stopped for a moment, drawing Rick's eyes to the map and to the line her finger had been tracing. "This is a route going from where we are here to San Diego, California. I figure we could make it there in about a month or maybe, hopefully, less. Given the meager supplies of food and gas. I know we could make it to California in general in about three days in my eighteen wheeler. But since we have to worry about the group it would take longer, much longer. Say we fit everybody in the trailer, counting food and all of that, shouldn't be a problem. But we have to worry about fuel stops, and I had been talking to a friend I had before all of this, and he says an eighteen wheeler needs at least four fuel stops, probably five, along the way, providing we don't run into too much traffic, and with the route I have planned out we shouldn't." she stopped for a breath and Rick shifted in closer to the map, seeming to actually be considering the possibility for a few moments.

"Sonora, I'm not entirely with you on this… why would we want to go to California?"' he asked, eyes shifting along the map and noticing several places that had been circled, probably small towns where they could rest and gather more supplies.

Sonora lifted her right hand and reached across Rick, tugging on the top map and pulling it so that it was directly on top of the one he'd been looking at. "To get a plane or boat so we could get to here." She pointed to the Hawaii islands. The four larger islands were circled, and Sonora tapped the biggest one. "It's secluded, probably doesn't have too many infected on it, and would be easy to grow food and other things on it. From what I've heard it doesn't get too cold, though it does snow there." She pulled the map at each side, making it unfold and revealing the bigger picture. "I'm just suggesting this to you, so you can determine whether or not you want your group to go. I'm going, and I think Conner is going with me. I am just seeing if you would want to join us. We could clear out the islands and make them a paradise." She finished.

Rick frowned, straightening up as Sonora put away the maps and then straightened the seed packets. "You've really thought this through, haven't you?" he asked.

Sonora shrugged. "Not totally, there's still the matter of piloting a plane or a boat. I don't exactly know how to do either one of those. But I figure a plane can't be too much off from a big truck, I mean right is left for a truck, and left is right. So I figure up is down on a plane, and down is up. Shouldn't be too hard." She told the man. She was hoping to pick up someone who could fly a plane along the way to California also, but she didn't mention that to Rick.

He sighed. "Give me some time to think about it, I'll discuss it with the group later as well…" He glanced around, but no one was about except for Glenn and Maggie, both were standing in the guard tower keeping a look out. "Have you seen Carl?" he asked, remembering that he hadn't seen his son since early that morning.

"Last I saw him; he was taking my keys to go watch a movie in the truck." She pointed over her shoulder at the black monster parked alongside the other cars and smaller trucks.

"Can you go get him? I'd like to get him to help me go check the perimeter." Rick turned back to the land he had been surveying.

Sonora shrugged. "Alright, gotta make sure he doesn't run down the batteries anyway." She stated.

Sonora walked to the eighteen wheeler and opened the door, her ears immediately picking up the sounds of laughter and what sounded like Bambi. She shook her head and climbed in, looking towards the sleeper and the young boy who was lounging back and watching the old Disney movie. She looked towards the TV and saw Bambi with his head stuck in a tree limb and Feline licking his cheek. Ah the end of the movie then.

"Carl, your dad wants you to help him with perimeter runs." She said, standing, by the bed and watching as Carl nodded and picked up the remote, stopping the movie and then getting up. He picked his hat up and then put his gun in the belt he wore.

"Alright, thanks for letting me come in here and watch the movie, I haven't been thinking of walkers or danger since I came in here." He stated.

Sonora smiled. "I try." She said, turning to the TV and pressing the power button on it and then the one on the DVD player. Carl left the truck and Sonora sat on the mattress for a moment, running her hands over her face and then taking the maps and looking at them for a moment. She knew it was crazy to try and take off for Hawaii, but she knew it might be a good safe place to go. Start over again.

But it could also be a death sentence. Who knew if there was anything on those islands besides walkers? They could step off that plane, or boat, and be immediately overrun. She also didn't know anyone, who probably wasn't a walker by now, who could fly a plane or drive a boat. She drew in a breath and then let it out slowly, steeling her thoughts. She knew that they might, and that was a very slim might, run by someone on the road to California who did know how to do one of those two things. It was a very slim chance, but Sonora had a little hope.

Hope was a very powerful thing these days. Look where it got her with the truck, she glanced around the interior and then nodded, standing. She had hope that they would get to Hawaii, and hope is what she would need.

Sonora exited the truck and turned to see Conner walking towards her. "How'd he take it?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

Sonora shrugged. "He said he would think about it, so we'll have to wait and see. Personally I think he might do it, but you never know. He may just want to stay here and farm for the rest of his life. Which is probably what we'll have to do on Hawaii anyway, but at least an island is secluded, unapproachable on all sides except by boat or plane." She explained, turning and locking the door to the cab. She slipped the keys into her pocket and the two walked towards where Carol and T-Dog were.

"Hey, what's up?" Sonora asked, stopping in front of the large man and shifting into a casual stance. "No walkers… besides the ones locked in the secluded parts of the facility?"

"Nah, actually Carol and I were just talking about taking down these walkers in that enclosed area behind us. Want to join us? Could let off some steam and build teamwork, and all that other stuff." He smiled slightly, Sonora turned to Conner, eyebrow lifted.

"What do you say Con? Taking down a few walkers seems like a good idea right about now." She suggested, hand lowering from her hip to her pouch on her belt, fingering a few kunai.

Conner nodded. "Yea, let's do it." He stated, hand falling to his gun.

Sonora shook her head. "No, you'll waste your bullets, may need those later." She opened her pouch and withdrew her trench knives. "Take these, double the shots. We know those things like pushing their heads again the fence, well… let's take advantage of that." She handed them over and the group of four turned and walked off to the fenced area by the main door the group used to get inside the prison.

"I think this may constitute as community service guys." Sonora joked, walking slightly behind T-Dog. "At least we'll be doing the other guys a favor; we won't have to do this later."

T-Dog chuckled, and the four rounded the corner, immediately T-Dog stopped walking, the other three followed his example and Sonora looked around his shoulder. "What the hell?" he said, staring at the open gate. At least twenty walkers had come out of the fence, shuffling around aimlessly.

Sonora shook her head, edging closer to T-Dog. "Dude, how did that fence open?" she whispered.

He shrugged, every muscle in his body suddenly tense. "I don't know, but what I do know is that we need to get it back shut, and we need to do it fast." He turned slightly, the other three shifted as well. "Carol, you and Sonora take you pole and sword and cut down the ones you see outside of the fence, Conner and I will try and shut the gate before any more come closer." He stated, gesturing for Conner to follow him.

As the two silently made their way to the fence, and therefore the gate, Sonora and Carol looked at one another. Sonora pulled her sword from it's sheathe. "Are you ready?" she asked the gray haired lady.

Carol gripped her pole and nodded, albeit in a slightly scared sort of way. Sonora lifted her free hand and gripped Carol's shoulder for a brief moment before lifting her sword and placing it above her other hand on the grip.

"Let's do this." She said, walking forward and facing the threat to the people she had fallen in with.

Carol's footsteps were light behind hers, and then Sonora ceased to listen to the other woman, her sword rising and falling in an arc, sweeping towards the first walker she had come to. Its back had been towards her, and she was thankful for that as her sword made contact with the things head, slicing it almost in half before removing the silver instrument of death. She turned and did the same to the walker a few feet away. Then things got hairy, the other walkers around her noticed her, and she had to be quick about the death blows she was dealing out. Carol had moved so that she was a few feet away, killing walkers in her own way.

Sonora turned and swung, sidestepping one walker to kill another, and then bringing her sword around to kill the one she had avoided. Rattling to her right sounded, but her mind was on the things in front of her, kill them before they killed her. She quite enjoyed it, actually, but not too much. Only on a small level, enough to feel a tad bit better about the way her mother died and how she hadn't been able to get the one that had killed her. Sonora swung again, hacking at a walker that had gotten too closer, taking it down before giving it a death blow. She then turned and chopped the next one in half, the sword heavy in her hands but her heart pounding out a merciless beat. Kill them; take their lives for her mothers.

Sonora slowed for a moment, her eyes falling on a walker that neither she nor Carol had killed. It was almost the only one left, as she'd taken down at least half a dozen, maybe a few more, and Carol, T-Dog, and Conner had taken on the others. But this one, it was hers. She waved away the others, her feet shifting into a stance, her arms lifting, raising the sword above her right shoulder. It glinted in the little sun that landed on it, a black substance covering the blade. She watched as the walker ambled nearer to her, and then she struck, whirling left and swinging the sword, giving her arms one hell of a jolt as the instrument slid through decomposing skin, and bone, to rest inside the chest. The walker's head had been sliced into two, each half staying on the body by way of the parts of neck that were still attached.

Sonora held on as it buckled, down to the ground on its back, the tip of the sword sliding a little tearing more skin as it burst free from the weight. She glared at it before lifting her eyes and glancing around at the faces of the people around her. Carol looked shocked, but T-Dog and Conner merely looked a little confused, probably wondering if this was really anger she was exerting, or something else.

She didn't give them any answers.

She didn't have time to give them answers.

At that moment a loud blaring alarm had started, ripping through the air and making every single one of them jump.

"What the hell?" Sonora glanced over to T-Dog as he made that statement, her own thoughts mirroring it. The four raced across the building, turning the corner to see the other members of the group, plus one Hershel, standing there, looking confused. Carl and Rick were on the other side of the fence with Daryl and Glenn.

"Where's that noise coming from?" Sonora yelled, looking over at Lori, Hershel, and Maggie. The three stood together, the two women supporting Hershel, with Maggie holding a weapon. Beth was standing near to her father, looking around in a frightened way.

Rick, Daryl, Carl, and Glenn came racing up at that moment, yelling into the confused group of people. Sonora looked at them and then looked around for the source of the noise. Rick found it first, he lifted his gun and started shooting, needing about two to three shots each. Sonora watched as the others with guns followed Rick's example.

He turned to the prisoners, they had come out earlier and had been locked outside the second gate, leaving them in the dog run but protecting them from the rest of the world. Sonora quickly stepped up behind Rick, standing behind him as he questioned the two men, Daryl stood to her left behind his leader. Sonora was reminded of a pack of wolves at the moment, she shook her head to try and get her mind back where it was supposed to be.

Suddenly Daryl touched her shoulder, jerking his head after Rick and then pushing her towards where their leader and the two prisoners were running.

"Everybody stay here! There aren't any walkers!" Rick shouted, Sonora lifted a hand and swiped some hair away from her eyes, her sword arm close to her body.

She mentally agreed with Rick, but she knew that there would have been walkers, had she and the others not discovered the opened fence.

She, Daryl, and Glenn hurried after Rick and the prisoners, all of them holding onto their weapons in a protective sort of way. Sonora jumped over a fallen stool, gaining a position just behind Axel. Daryl jogged up beside her, his crossbow held in both hands.

They all quickly went to the C Block, finding three walkers in there, Sonora's eyes widened as she thought of her horse. "Shit." She muttered, glancing towards where the outside of the block, the horses were a block over, kept away from the other people to keep them from complaining about the stink. She turned and ran down the hall, chopping down walkers on her way.

A minute later horse screams pierced her ears, she grit her teeth and charged into B Block, cutting down the crowd of walkers surrounding two cells turned stalls. Famine was screaming in fright, or so Sonora assumed, Moon was also screaming, but his had a tone of defiance in it. She snorted quietly, flowing around the walkers, alternately cutting and chopping to rescue the horses. Nothing could happen to those two, if they ran out of fuel one day then these two would be needed to cart her and Conner around.

Sonora cut the last walker down and then turned and looked at the horses. A soft cough caught her attention. Rick and the others stood near the entrance to the block. "Go ahead, but shut the door, I don't need any more walkers coming in here while I calm these two down." She told the others. They nodded, all of them leaving and Daryl shutting the door behind him as he was the last to leave. Sonora took a key from her pocket and opened the door to Famine's stall, letting him out. The horse was definitely scared; he came out and started bucking, throwing legs skyward and letting out snorts of panic. But, Sonora knew, the horse probably remembered going through all of those long months, running towards and away from the walkers. Defeating them with the human on its back, so after a few moments of whirling around the horse came back to Sonora and laid his head on her shoulder.

She placed a hand on his cheek and pressed her cheek against his nose, closing her eyes.

The alarm was still going, and there were probably a lot of walkers still around, but she was right here with the one thing that had helped keep her alive for nearly a year. Sonora opened her eyes and sighed, turning and opening the door to Moon's stall. The stallion walked out, head and tail up, eyes bright and watchful. Sonora was glad Famine was a gelding; otherwise she was sure she'd have a fight on her hands, one that would _not_ end well.

At that moment the alarm went off. Sonora walked the horses back into their cells and then shut the doors. She turned and exited the block, walking towards the outside, where she knew the others would be.

When she made it outside she turned and noticed that the group of people who had stayed were gathered in a loose semicircle, something was down in the middle of them. Sonora tightened her grip on her sword and walked forward, reaching them in a few steps and then stopping and staring, in horror, at what was on the ground.

Lori had gone into labor, and from what Sonora was seeing, had had to have a c section. "What…" she gasped, staring at the bloody body at her feet. Conner turned and stared at her, his eyes shining for some strange reason. He walked over to her and threw his arm around her shoulders; he leaned in, unable to take anymore of staring at Lori's twisted remains.

"She went into labor a few minutes after all of ya'll had gone inside, Hershel and Carol did what they could, but she had to have a c section. She… she knew what was going to happen." He stopped for a moment, turning back to look at Lori, the others, those who were not Hershel, Carol, or Carl, had started backing away. A baby's cry could be heard faintly. Conner steered Sonora towards a set of stairs and sat them both down on it. "She was knocked unconscious, probably the pain, and Hershel took the baby from inside of her…" Conner trailed off, staring over at the three around Lori's body, Sonora didn't need to hear any more of it though, she knew what happened next.

She didn't like the bitch, but Lori was okay, still bossy as hell, as if she still ran the damn show… but still, Lori was a good person. Sonora frowned, and turned her face away from the scene, she saw Rick and the others come out from the prison. She covered her face with her hands and then sighed, rubbing at her face with her palms. She didn't like this world. She had to somehow get these people to agree to go to Hawaii with her. An isolated island only had an exact amount of walkers. Plus there was the possibility that there were other survivors there, and that was something she wanted to know as well, because when it came down to it she couldn't really live with these people her entire life. No matter how short or long it might be.

…

Days later Sonora was messing around with her eighteen wheeler, she'd opened the hood and was checking everything on it. She knew she would have to stop every so often to get gas, and hopefully be able to successfully scavenge other parts for it from other big rigs. But that was for the future, this rig looked so new she was wondering if she could find the bill of sale somewhere in the cab. She hadn't searched it too thoroughly yet, but when she found that sale bill she'd be able to know everything she wanted about this rig. Assuming it came from a company that gave the record papers with the sale.

Sonora checked the oil and then put the stick back into its place, she'd done just about everything else she needed to make sure this particular mode of transportation would run smoothly. She walked around to the front of the nose and grabbed the end of the hood, she lifted and the hood moved, returning back to its place, Sonora went around and latched it securely before wiping her hands on her jeans and walking to the door to jump inside and search the cab for those papers.

She looked around after she jumped into the cab, her eyes catching sight of Rick walking out of the prison and of Glenn and one of the prisoners doing a perimeter sweep. She shut the door to the cab and began making her way around it, opening little drawers, looking into the glove box, checking under the bed. She finally checked under the side seat and saw what she was looking for.

At that moment a knock came to her door. Sonora stood and frowned, leaning forward and looking out of the glass to see the other prisoner standing there; she sighed and opened the door, looking out at him for a moment. "Well, what do you want?" she asked.

Axel stared up at her for a moment before rubbing his arms. "Can I come up? You don't have to let me, I just want someone to talk to while Oscar is Glenn with the rounds." He stated.

Sonora shook her head and then climbed out of her rig, placing the papers in her hand on the seat on the driver's side as she went. She wasn't stupid, people were in prison for a reason, and prison got lonely, from what she'd heard. She didn't want to be in a sleeper cab with a man she didn't know. Sonora turned and locked the door before turning and looking back at Axel. "Well, talk, you wanted to, so here I am." She stated. "But I have to check my trailer, so just follow me around if you want to." She started walking to the back of the trailer, kicking at the wheels as she went along.

"Have you driven a truck for a while? Or did you just start driving when you needed to? Like at the start of the outbreak?" Axel asked, following Sonora back to the end of the black trailer, he glanced up at the emblem on the side of it.

Sonora made it to the back of the truck and checked on the latch, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was padlocked, Axel came up beside her at that point and she saw him gazing curiously at the emblem that was on the back doors. "This was a trailer that carted around furniture, I assume it's empty, but I won't know until I open these doors." She paused and thought about the answer to his question. "I was a driver before the outbreak; it was a pretty nice life. I doubt there are anymore drivers out there now, so that makes the breed of asphalt cowboy a little more in danger of dying out than it was before." She stated, undoing the latch and then swinging open the right door, looking in and then smiling slightly. "I guess it wasn't as empty as I thought." She admitted.

She then turned to Axel, gesturing towards Rick; the man had sat down on the concrete beside the picnic table. "Can you go and get Rick for me? I think he may want to see this." She said before turning back to the trailer and opening the left door, watching as Axel walked away and then climbing inside. She edged around a dresser and then made her way around the other things in the trailer. When she got to the middle of the sixty foot trailer she paused, turning her head and looking at the beds piled up in the corner. She lifted her hand and felt of the plastic coat one of the beds had around it before turning again and continuing to the very back, her eyes adjusting to the darkness to see a few bed frame boxes lined carefully up side to side, stretching to make the most of the space they were in.

At that moment she heard a couple of voices and the crunching of gravel, she turned and walked back to the end of the trailer, sitting down on the edge and waiting for the two men. When Rick rounded the corner made by the door of the trailer Sonora waved a little, jerking her head back so he would get the hint and look behind her. "It's not food, but I guess we have some comfort now, all of those mattresses are top brand." She stated, standing and helping Rick into the trailer. She stood back and watched as he walked among the assortment of things the group might like.

"All of the frames and dressers could be used for firewood, or we could break them down and build some sort of weapon from them." Rick stated, his eyes moving around the home furnishings, they settled on the beds and he sighed, turning back and going to the end of the trailer, he jumped out and then stood up straight. "Well let's get Conner, Daryl, and Glenn over here, and maybe Oscar too." He said, turning to Axel and running a hand through his beard.

"I'll get Glenn and Oscar; I'll do that right now." Axel started to turn and go to get the two on their run but Rick stopped him.

"No, let them finish looking out, we'll gather everyone in a couple of hours. Start handing out jobs and beds." He told the man in dirty prison outfit.

Sonora watched as Axel nodded and left, then she turned her attention to Rick, he hadn't left, he was just standing there in the shadow of the trailer with his hands by his sides and his face stony.

Sonora almost sighed, but she knew what it was like to lose someone who you were close to, someone you loved with every beat of your heart and never even getting the chance to say good bye. She'd felt that before, twice. Her mother and her cousin. She hadn't gotten completely over the loss of her mom; it was still a throbbing pain every time she thought about it. Her cousin had died a few years before the world turned to shit, and she was glad for that because she felt that she would have had to protect him from this hell.

"I won't assume to know the kind of pain you're going through because of her death. I do know the pain that death has, I've lost my mother and a cousin, and those were devastating blows to me." She said, looking down and fiddling with the buckle on her belt. "The does get a little easier through time, there's still an ache though, a 'what if' that you'll think about when something happens when you go through something. My cousin was fifteen when he died, I still go through days that I think 'what if he was here to experience this?' but I know he won't come back, and I probably won't get to see him after I go, because of the things I did to stay alive here." She stopped for a moment after Rick turned to her; he seemed to be listening intently. "My mother, I never got the chance to avenge her, because it had been early in the outbreak when she'd been bitten. The walker that did it, did it when she was on her way home from work. I'd just come off of a run, and she'd been in the living room holding a hand to her right shoulder, the blood had been everywhere. She'd died before I made it home, and when I tried to make sure she was alright, she'd tried to bite me. I tried everything to get her to come back to me, but it wasn't happening." A sob cut off her words, she shut her eyes and the old insane smile forced her lips up, she bared her teeth in a grimace. "I put this kunai knife in her head and killed her. I killed my mom and then left." She opened her pack and withdrew a kunai knife, the handle had been covered in red fabric, and crude black stitching had been placed on the fabric, near the end of the handle, the stitching revealed the word 'mom'.

Rick walked closer, trying to keep his eyes off the crazy smile on Sonora's face. He took the proffered kunai and examined it, eyes noticing the way it shined, even in the shadow. He said nothing and handed it back to Sonora, she took it and placed it in the pouch again, zipping it shut.

They sat and stood there in silence for a few moments, Rick was waiting for Sonora to compose herself. Sonora bit her lip to keep the sobs from escaping, but tears were still making tracks down her cheeks. She drew in a few deep shuddering breaths before sighing and then releasing her lip.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She said, sliding down off of the trailer and then shutting the doors. She put the latch on properly and then turned to face Rick. "We have got to get some hats or something, I'm tired of having the sun blind me." That was the ice breaker after talking about sad things.

Rick nodded, getting what she was trying to do. "We'll put hats on the list for Daryl or Glenn to get next time they go out." He said, they both turned and headed for the front of a truck.

"I bet you've stopped quite a few truckers in your day, didn't you?" Sonora asked, nudging him in his arm, patting the dusty door of her sleeper cab.

"I've stopped one or two." He admitted, staring up at the large black monster. "I can't get my mind around it that you drive these things. It didn't seem like a great job to me when I was a cop, the truckers were loud, rude and sometimes disgusting." He stated.

"You've met the butt end of every industry then, there are more, or there were more, decent drivers than the ones you'd met. The ones who would help out anytime, those are the ones you should have met. I was a fairly decent driver, if I do say so." She smiled a little and then unlocked the door to the truck and opened it. "You been in here yet? Check it out and maybe you'll see why I wanted to drive." She gestured.

Okay, she mused, maybe I have it wrong, maybe Rick isn't too bad. She couldn't get herself to like him too much yet, but admitting that he wasn't too bad of a guy was a start. Rick clambered into the truck and Sonora leaned against the front tire to watch the yard.

…..

~Well, there's a chapter, not too much in it, but I did what I could. Next chapter Rick decides whether or not to go to Hawaii. Sonora meets up with someone, and someone shows up that the group thought dead.


	10. On the Road Again

WARNING! THIS STORY VEERS OFF FROM THE TV SHOW FROM THIS POINT ONWARD!

Sonora walked down the gravel path to the newly repaired gate that Conner was standing at. When she was abreast of him she stopped, put one hand on the fence, and leaned against it. "I can't believe so much could happen in so few days." She stated, looking around at the walkers that were stumbling around outside the fence.

"Well, this apocalypse happened fairly quickly." Conner pointed out, his eyes never leaving the road. He glanced over at Sonora, eyes taking in the woman by his side and then turning back to the road ahead of them. "Are you still pressing Rick about Hawaii? You know he won't leave without Glenn and Maggie back, and we don't know if they're still alright, from what that woman told us."

Sonora sighed, turning and taking a seat on the ground, leaning against the fence. "We'll get them back, and I'm sure that wherever they are, they're alright, and yes I am pressing Rick about Hawaii. It's the one place we could go that wouldn't have walkers out the ass, there were only so many people on the islands in the first place, so we wouldn't have to do too much to get rid of what's there now." She informed him.

Conner rolled his eyes and walked in a small circle. "I'm a little worried though; shouldn't the group be back by now?" he asked, shifting his eyes from the road to Sonora and back.

Sonora shrugged, looking down into the dirt and making shapes in it with her fingers. "I think I should attach that cattle trailer onto the truck, it would be better for hauling around these people. They can't all fit into my cab. What do you think?" she asked, looking up at Conner and squinting in the sunlight.

Conner rolled his eyes, turning back to the gravel road in front of him. "Do whatever you want." He said roughly, peering through the trees.

Sonora smirked a little but it soon fell from her lips, she looked up at the eighteen wheeler and the spare trailer she had sitting beside it. She'd gone into town the day before with Conner and had found it, immediately she'd hooked it up and brought it back to the prison. She'd been cleaning it out and had thought that it would be good for hauling the group around in instead of the other trailer. The air holes were a main thing, the first trailer didn't have them, and this one had them. They were good for if walkers crowded the sides of the trailer.

Sonora grumbled and stood, dusting off her backside, Conner looked back over at her. "Where are you going?" he called after her, watching her walk off.

"To hook up that trailer!" Sonora yelled back, flipping him a bird. She didn't even look back at him, just continued walking.

…..

The horses whinnied nervously as Sonora walked them up the ramp into the trailer; she patted their muzzles and kept on walking, going right up to the front of the trailer and then letting the lead ropes drop to the floor. She turned and left them there, the grass capturing their attention, exiting the trailer and going to the large tub sitting in the gravel right off the ramp. She picked up one end and then started pulling it up the ramp, ignoring the noises it made as she did. The grind of metal against metal caught Conner's attention and he jumped up the ramp and picked up the other end of the tub.

Together they carried it over to the end of the trailer and put it down in the corner. Sonora let out a breath as she wiped her brow, looking over at Conner and smiling. "Thanks." She said, wiping her hands off on her jeans. Conner shrugged and the two turned and left the trailer.

Rick was gathering the last of the things they needed before leaving the prison, he stood upright and cracked his back, his eyes catching sight of Sonora and Conner returning from outside. "Sonora, come here." He said, gesturing.

The pair split up and Conner walked over to the cell they shared while Sonora headed over to Rick. "Need something?" she asked once she reached him.

Rick shook his head. "Are you completely sure you can get us to Hawaii?" he asked, frowning and leaning in.

Sonora leaned back, still not liking how he got in her face. "Up to a point, I don't know how to drive an airplane or a boat." She stated, putting her hands around her back and stretching them out behind herself. "I figure it's a try and succeed experience." She stated, shrugging.

Rick frowned deeper, his expression darkening.

"Don't worry Officer Friendly, we'll figure it out while we're going." She stated, smiling slightly.

Rick groaned and shook his head. "I don't like this." He muttered.

Sonora just shrugged.

….

"Now entering West Monroe, Louisiana," Sonora said into the mike, releasing it and letting it bungee back up to the roof of her cab. She pulled off the interstate and rolled down the ramp, going through the intersection and looking around for a store or something to park in.

They'd been on the road for about two days, starting and stopping at odd towns to restock and get fuel if it was needed. Sonora personally liked it, driving was great, and she felt good about this idea.

She saw a Big Lots and pulled into the parking lot there, stopping and then pulling the airbrakes. She hopped out of the cab and walked around the side of the trailer, getting to the back and opening the doors to reveal the group, or at least part of it. Daryl pulled up on his motorcycle and put the kickstand down, shutting it off after that and getting off it. Rick stepped up to the open end of the trailer. "I've been doing some thinking, we need more baby stuff, and I think I speak for everybody when I say we need more restroom breaks." He stated, sitting on the edge of the trailer.

Sonora shrugged. "I don't mind that, just give me a holler when ya'll need to go and I'll stop wherever. If you don't tell me I don't know." She stated.

Rick nodded and looked around, he spotted the store and gestured to Daryl, the two of them basically reading each other's minds and then Rick disappeared into the trailer, returning shortly with Glenn, Maggie, and Merle. Sonora turned and walked back to the cab, catching Daryl's attention. "Where you going?" he asked.

Sonora turned her head back to him. "To get Conner, duh." She stated.

Daryl rolled his eyes and started chewing on his thumb.

Sonora took her keys from her pocket and stuck them into the small door on the side of her cab, unlocking it and popping it open to reveal the back of Conner's head. She flicked him a couple of times before he woke and started crawling out of the truck. "What do you want?" he asked, blinking down at her.

"World peace, come on we don't have all day… or well we do have all day but I don't particularly feel like sitting around all day… we need to go with the others to look in that store there." She pointed to the store as they walked back to the rest of the group.

"Fine." Conner shrugged and looking around as the rest of the people climbed out of the trailer, "the cattle trailer was a good idea," he said to her as they reached the group and entered the circle.

Sonora smiled at him and nudged his side with her elbow; she then looked around and saw Rick, Daryl, and Merle in front of them. The three had been waiting, or so it seemed, for her and Conner to make it back before discussing anything further. "We'll take out the walkers inside, post two guards outside, and then go through the store looking for anything we could use," Rick told the two, having already talked to Daryl and Merle.

Sonora shrugged, sidling over and looking into the trailer, she'd picked up survivors along the way, people who had been along the road mostly. A few of them were sitting in the trailer, talking; one remained tied to a hole on the side away from everyone. She'd picked that guy up a few hours ago, and Rick had apparently been getting to know him. "Alright, we'll have to check and see if this place has any bottled water. I'm sure ya'll will be out soon, am I right?" she asked, looking back at the leader of the group.

Rick nodded and the five turned and Daryl motioned for Maggie and Glenn to follow them towards the store. The pair, who had been watching from a distance, hurried to catch up and Conner caught them up to speed on things.

Sonora placed her hand on her sword for a brief moment, and then shook her head. She unzipped both hip pouches and withdrew her knives, zipping the pouches back up and then unfolded the knives, gripping them loosely at her sides as she entered the store. She stared at Rick's back as he moved into the not so bright interior of the store, motioning to the others to fan out.

After a general sweep of the area, which included the killing of no less than ten or twelve walkers, they headed back to the front and regrouped. "Conner, you, Sonora, and Merle will be looking around together, Daryl and I will take the left half, and you three take the right." Rick said, reaching up and brushing the hair out of his face.

Sonora nodded and looked over at Conner before grabbing a buggy and taking off with the two men behind her. She walked down several isles, filling the buggy with things from each, as the two behind her cast glances around, both taking an active part in the filling of the cart.

"Make sure to grab ol' Merle some spirits will ya, girlie?" Merle smirked at the back of Sonora's head, sweeping a few cans of chili off the shelves with his knife apparatus, making them fall into the cart.

Sonora glanced at him over her shoulder as he withdrew his arm and then nodded, shrugging as she felt a chill go down her spine. The three were mostly silent as they perused the rest of the items. Sonora making sure to sweep the alcohol isle, neither she nor Merle were disappointed at the possibilities presented to them. The two grabbed all they could carry and placed them in the cart, then grabbing more after that.

Conner leaned against the cart and watched the uncle and niece work together to get every bottle of liquor they could. He rolled his eyes and waited for them to finish, checking out the area as he did, and then eyeing the beer for a short minute.

….

Sonora finished directing the people in the trailer and climbed out, walking over to Rick where he stood with the newest guy. The man that had been picked up earlier had been let out to do his business and eat and drink. Sonora eyed him as she approached, her interest peaking as she noted a slight resemblance to her dad.

"How's Josh doing?" she asked, looking towards the semi insane leader of the strange group. "He pass inspection?"

Rick glanced at her and then nodded slowly, turning his attention back to the man in front of him. "You'll be riding with Sonora and Conner for a while when we get back on the road. Anything happens and the two of them will let you fall out without so much as a backward glance." He nodded towards the young woman.

Sonora lifted an eyebrow in surprise at his words, placing her hands on her hips and shifting her weight from one leg to another. "I'll make sure to have Conner keep an eye on him."

Rick nodded and then turned, yelling out and rounding up the rest of their group to let them know that it was time to move on. Sonora looked at Josh and gestured to him, turning and walking back to the rig, neither person saying nothing until both were inside. Sonora turned around in her seat to look and see if Conner was in the back, he was, lying stretched out on the bottom bunk. "Conner, get up ya lazy sack of cow shit. We got company." She said, reaching down to pick up an empty water bottle which she then threw at his back.

"Alright, alright, damn woman you'll kill me one of these days. Just last night ye were trying to put me back out, I swear it." He groaned as he turned over and blinked at the two in front of him. Then he blanched, "eh, not that we were doin' anything that would warrant such stuff as puttin' out backs. She was merely teachin' me some defensive moves." He said hurriedly.

"S'not dad Conner, blink three more times and you'll see." Sonora tried not to laugh as Josh looked a little confused by things.

The CB crackled overhead, ringing with voices checking in and confirming that everyone was ready to be on the move. Sonora swung around and grabbed her mike, checking in as well, and then started the eighteen wheeler. She pumped the gas a little and then pushed the air brake buttons back in, shifting into first after that and then slowly letting off the clutch and the brake.

The line of vehicles crawled towards the interstate, slowly picking up speed, and then they were on their way once again.


	11. ARE YOU CRAZY

Sonora narrowed her eyes at the line of vehicles in her path, wondering if it was just a random block or if someone had seen them coming and planned this. She didn't think about it too much longer as she grabbed the mike and reported her findings, waiting for her dad or Rick to come back and tell her what to do.

That was when several men stepped out from behind a car to the right and spread out, standing in her way. Sonora snarled as she immediately began slowing and down shifting, the limited amount of distance between she and the line of people in front of her made stopping very difficult as she didn't want to injure anyone in the trailer. Rick's voice over the CB screamed at her, questioning why she was slowing down.

She snapped her teeth together, her concentration on the people in front of her, "tell our insane leader that I don't feel like cleaning body parts out of the wheels and brakes, never mind the engine. Besides they don't have any weapons," she told Conner, who immediately picked up the mike and translated her words to Rick, who was still pissed.

Conner tried to calm the leader of the group but Sonora snarked loud enough for Rick to hear, "be pissed damn it! I ain't cleaning the mess up if I hit them!" The CB was quiet for a moment as Sonora was finally able to stop, she popped the brakes and grabbed the double barrel by her seat before unbuckling herself and jumping out, stalking towards the group. She absently noted that a couple of women and a slew of children were now with them, but beyond that her vision was tunneled.

She cocked her gun, laying it across her shoulders and glaring at the man in front, stopping and taking a deep breath before exploding at them. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to stop this muther fucker!?" she screeched, pointing to the truck behind her with her free hand, "I have half a mind to blow your stupid fucking heads off for that ridiculous stunt! What the HELL were you thinking?!" she took a step forward and felt a small sense of satisfaction when the man took a small step back. Around her the others of the group were pulling up in their vehicles, Daryl already beside her with his crossbow at the ready.

At that moment Rick arrived and placed a hand on Sonora's none-gun-baring shoulder, pushing her to the side slightly as he took stock of the situation. He was very wary of the people standing across from them, but seeing as they had women and children he thought that they might be safe, he was still wary however.

Sonora watched, her lips curled into a snarl, as Rick talked with the man who had quailed before her anger.

"We saw your caravan and decided to try and stop you before you moved past us, our vehicles are out of fuel, and we're almost out of food, we just want a chance." The man was telling Rick, his eyes shifting from the leader of Sonora's group to Sonora herself.

She released the hammers on her gun and placed the barrels on the ground, her stance seeming relaxed, but in reality she was ready to fight in an instant. "So you decided to attempt suicide by standing in front of a truck going _eighty_ miles an hour?" she asked, sneering at him and then settling again when Rick turned to glare at her.

The man shrugged, "it was the only thing we could think of that would work, we didn't want to be shot down on accident," he stated, his statement going towards Sonora, but his attention on Rick. "We didn't know what else to do."

Rick nodded, looking at the ground, Daryl leaned towards him and whispered something in his ear, Sonora sighed as she watched the original members of their group, Glenn and Maggie, Herschel and Beth, and Carl and Carol, back them, all of them more or less defensive as they all stared at the slightly large group who had stopped them. Sonora turned her attention back to Rick, seeing that he was deciding on whether or not to give the strangers a place to stay in their ranks.

Merle chose that moment to pull up on his motorcycle; he and Daryl were taking turns riding it, and shut it off. He put the kickstand down and slowly got off it, heading towards the front of the group and then stopping, staring at the people in front of them.

"Willie, long time no see, what brings you way out here?" he asked, sidling up to Sonora and laying his right arm on her shoulder, leaning against her. She frowned; slitting her eyes and glaring at him slightly for presuming her to be his prop, but did nothing to get him off. She could handle her weird uncle, very, very weird, but if he started making lewd comments about her, Conner, and Josh again then she would kick him to the ground.

The man at the head of the other group smiled, or so Sonora thought, she couldn't really tell with his beard being in the way. "Merle, good to see you're still alive and well… sort of," Willie glanced at the apparatus on Merle's arm before turning back to a suddenly tense Rick.

"Don't worry, we're old friends, but we're not as… eccentric as Merle is," he stated, lifting his hands up slightly.

Rick sighed, turning his head back to his group, and then looked at the new people again, "give us a moment," he stated, watching as Willie nodded before turning around fully and leaning in to talk to the others. "I don't really know if we should allow them to join with us, they have a lot of mouths to feed… Carol, what are the food stores like?" he asked, turning his attention to the short haired woman standing by Glenn.

She looked at the children in the other group and then back at Rick, "we're able to feed them, but I don't know about where we would put them. Sonora has a lot of people in that trailer already, if the horses were gone then maybe, but we don't have the room to fit them all in our cars." She frowned sadly, thinking about Sophia and watching the children of the other group.

Rick looked at Sophia who shrugged, "I'm not putting the horses out, so shove that thought up your ass," she grinned manically at his dark glare, "besides that… I can handle the extra people; children don't take up that much room. The adults will have to deal with being in the trailer… I have the room, just not much of it." She shrugged, moving out from Merle's arm as she did so and moving around to Daryl, who glanced down at her, and Conner, who had just climbed out of her cab and now handed her the keys.

She smiled at him, taking the keys, and then brought her attention back to Rick who was turning to face Willie's group now. She grabbed Conner's hand and led him to the front of the group to watch Rick.

Rick looked over each member of the group, his eyes hard, before sighing, "I'll need to ask you all a couple of questions before ya'll join us, but other than that, it's fine." He told them.

Willie nodded, glancing around at his family, and then turning to look back at Rick, "thanks man, bring on the questions."

Rick nodded, gesturing for Daryl to come up beside him before beginning the round of questions.

Sonora turned and pulled Conner to the trailer, looking up at it and seeing half a dozen eyes staring at her through the air holes in the sides of the trailer. "Everything is fine, we might be getting a few new people," she assured the ones watching, noting that most of the eyes disappeared after hearing her explanation for why they stopped. When she and Conner reached the end of the trailer she let go of his hand and grabbed the door locks, swinging them open and then pushing one side of the trailer door open, securing the chain on the bottom to a hook under the floor of the trailer. She came back around and noticed that Conner had opened the other door, but beyond that she just pulled the ramp down and stepped back as the people in the trailer stepped into the light, blinking slightly, and slowly coming down the ramp to check out their surroundings.

"Don't stray too far, children remember to stay with your guardians, adults, don't go anywhere without alerting me," Sonora watched as the ones that were coming out nodded at her and spread out, going over to the abandoned cars scattered around the area.

Conner sighed and slung an arm around her shoulder, watching the familiar strangers go about and gather what they could. He turned to Sonora and saw her watching the trees with a pensive look on her face; he wondered what she was thinking about before bringing the arm that wasn't encircling her shoulders up and touching her chin lightly with his fingers.

Sonora blinked and allowed him to bring her head around and tilt it up, she noted that his eyes had darkened, the brown color resembling pools of chocolate. She smiled a little, watching as he lowered his face to hers and closing his eyes, her own gaze shifting to the side and watching as Merle approached them silently. She winked at her uncle and then, before Conner could bring his lips to hers she twisted her face so she could whisper in his ear. "You sure you want to? Uncle is behind you…"

Conner's reaction was funny, to say the least, he first stiffened, and then, when Merle tapped his shoulder with the knife thing, he practically shrieked like a little girl and dove behind Sonora.

Sonora chuckled, her grin slightly terrifying with how many teeth she was showing, and eyed Merle. "Didn't think you would want to leave the party up front," she stated, leaning on her right leg and placing her hand on her hip.

Merle grinned right back at her, "well I gotta have my fun girlie, and messing with your little boyfriend is quite amusing. He screams like a little girl."

Sonora looked over her shoulder at Conner, who was slightly glaring at Merle, his face pale, "yeah, it is amusing…" she mused, her grin threatening to break her face in half as Conner glared at her in return for her comment.

"Why do I get stuck with the crazy bitch and her equally crazy family? What did I do to deserve this?" Conner mumbled, not loud enough for Merle to hear, but Sonora caught his words easily as he was pressed right up against her.

"I may be crazy but at least I'm a fun crazy," she whispered, turning her attention back to Merle. "What's the verdict on the new guys?" she asked in a louder voice.

Merle shrugged, his eyes taking in the way Conner was still pressed against his niece, "we'll find that out when we get back up there, Officer Friendly wants you back up there."

Sonora nodded and followed Merle as he turned and started heading back to the head of the truck, Conner staying behind to watch the group gather supplies.

Sonora watched as Rick shook Willie's hand and then turn around, obviously looking for her by the way his stance changed and he beckoned her forth. "Sonora, tell them what they need to bring, and then get them situated in the trailer, the rest of us are going to scavenge around." He told her, walking to the original group once his instructions were done.

Sonora sighed, her shoulders slumping as Merle cackled and slapped her back with his good hand before heading off with Rick. She glowered at him and then turned to Willie and his group, eyes roving over them for a second before she lifted her shoulders back up and giving a smile. "Okay, for this merry trip you're about to embark upon you will need these essentials. Covers, it gets quite cold back there, any form of entertainment, books etcetera as you will probably be bored out of your mind, water, food, and your weapons. If it should happen that I am incapacitated there is a lock on the top of the doors that will allow you to open the trailer doors from the inside. I don't think that will happen but I can't be too sure…" Sonora trailed off, looking at the sky. "Food will be shared among everyone, there is no hoarding allowed here, we're in an apocalypse, all for one and one for all and all that jazz."

She grinned twistedly at the members of the group, scaring the children and frightening the adults… slightly. "If I find out that you have started any fights, hoarded any food, or done anything unacceptable then I will hand the offender over to my uncle to do with you as he pleases. I would give you over to my dad but he's not as fun when he's angry." She chuckled, waving her hands towards the line of vehicles behind Willie and his family, "anyway, when I remember the rest of the rules I'll let you know, for now just grab your essentials and we'll get you settled in the trailer." She stated.

The group glanced around warily, most of them keeping their eyes on Sonora, before heading to their vehicles and gathering their stuff. Sonora watched, giggling slightly, and then stiffened when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, lifting an eyebrow, and saw Josh, who had his eyes fixed on the group hustling around the vehicles, "have you told them that you don't stop for restroom breaks unless alerted? I'm sure the children will be in some distress if you keep going and they don't know how to tell you to stop."

Sonora sighed, shaking her head and then turning back to Willie's group, "Oi, if you don't tell me when you need to use the facilities then I won't know! Other than that, standard question here, does anyone know how to drive a boat or fly a plane?" she asked.

The kids stood gaping at her; the adults stared at her, looking at each other momentarily before staring again. The universal thought going through their minds that maybe it was a bad idea joining this group if they were going to be stuck in the trailer of the crazy chick.

One man stepped forward, an older gentleman, salt and pepper hair slightly long, and lifted his hand. "I can fly a plane, why do you ask?" he asked.

Sonora grinned at him, her eyes flashing menacingly, "because you will be needed soon, very, very soon," she told him, watching as he nodded slowly, stepping back and being embraced by a woman with blonde hair. Sonora watched for a few more moments, deciding that the new people were done when they all just stood there staring at her, and then waved a hand, turning and escaping Josh's hand. She'd forgotten the punk was there actually.

"Come on now, we'll get you guys loaded and then we'll have to be off, if we stand here too long then our scents will be carried to the nearest freaks around here." She stated, hearing grunts and mumbles as the group picked up their belongings and followed after her.

….

Conner furrowed his brow when he looked up from digging through the back of a Honda and noticed that Daryl and Merle were standing, leaning actually, against either side of the trunk. Both were inspecting their weapons, Merle's arm attachment in the older man's case, and seemed nonchalant.

A cold chill went down Conner's spine, his eyes shifting from one brother to the next, before he grabbed the box he had stuffed things into and picked it up, backing away slowly.

Daryl shifted his hard blue gaze from his crossbow to Conner, his face still void of emotion, which made him all the more frightening. "Settle down." He ordered, glancing from Conner to the box, obviously telling the younger man to put the box back down.

Conner did as he was, nonverbally, told while his complexion paled as he wondered what this was about. "Something wrong?" he asked, glancing from one brother to the other, mentally sweating while on the outside he was cool as a cucumber.

"Wanna tell my brother here what you were doing earlier, leprechaun?" Merle asked tauntingly, wiping the blade of his arm knife down, not even glancing at Conner.

Conner thought about what he was doing earlier, what he was doing that Merle noticed anyway. "Shit," he muttered, realization widening his eyes as he caught a glimpse of Sonora and immediately knowing what Merle was talking about.

Daryl fixed his hard gaze back on his crossbow, his face turning stony as he worked it over, "Merle told me kid, so just own up," he ordered, glancing at Conner with a chilling stare briefly. "Just because she and I are recently reunited doesn't mean shit, that's my little girl and I'll be damned if I let some shit head take advantage of her."

Conner gulped nervously, he really, _really_ didn't want to be having this conversation right now. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and end up walker food, "I'm pretty sure she can make her own decisions…" he muttered.

Like that.

Daryl and Merle glanced at each other before standing up and approaching Conner like two wolves would approach a baby deer. The hunger of the proverbial hunt in their eyes as they stalked towards him, Conner never felt so close to death as he was sure he was right now.

Daryl clamped a hand onto his shoulder, clenching his fingers as he got a good grip on the slightly terrified young man's body. "Run that by me again."

"Dad! Uncle! What the ever loving HELL are you two doing to Conner?! Leave him alone!"

Sonora had never been so loved at that moment, Conner was sure.

She swooped into the middle of them and sent her best glare towards her father and uncle before grabbing Conner's hand and tugging him away, Daryl's hand falling off the man's shoulder as she raced away.

"That was fun, I'm pretty sure he was close to shitting himself," Merle commented, gazing at his niece and grinning to himself.

Daryl grunted, turning and picking up the box of things the kid had left behind and then heading towards the caravan, turning back to Merle when it became apparent that his brother wasn't following, "you commin' or what?" he asked, shifting the load and waiting for Merle to join him before heading back again.

….

~May I just say how sorry I am that I have made ya'll wait so long for this update? If you can call it that…

Well, here it is!

Please note that I am a truck driver, I do not always have access to internet connection and sometimes I am too tired or fed up to write. Thank you for reading, have a nice day!


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